Mercedes-Benz-BMW 'Game of Thrones' Who Will Be the Winner This Year?

Mercedes-Benz Maintains No.1 for 7 Years
BMW Leads by 188 Units This Year... Close to Reclaiming Title After 7 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] BMW Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea are fiercely competing for the top spot in the domestic imported car market. The difference in cumulative sales between the two brands this year is less than 200 units. BMW is running promotions such as vehicle discounts to reclaim the imported car market throne after 7 years, while Mercedes-Benz is doing the same to maintain its number one position.

According to the cumulative imported car sales from January to November this year compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) on the 7th, BMW sold 71,713 units, and Mercedes-Benz sold 71,525 units. BMW's sales are 188 units higher. The market shares of the two brands in the imported car market this year are 28.26% and 28.18%, respectively. Together, the two companies occupy nearly half of the entire imported car market.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz have always been rivals competing for first place in the domestic market. Until the early 2010s, BMW was the undisputed number one. However, in 2016, Mercedes-Benz surpassed BMW and took the throne in the imported car market. From 2016 until last year, Mercedes-Benz never lost the top spot. In 2018, due to BMW vehicle fires, sales declined, and in 2019, the sales gap between the two companies widened to as much as 30,000 units.

However, from 2020, the gap between the two companies began to narrow. Last year, Mercedes-Benz sold 10,000 more units. But this year, BMW's sales are slightly higher. If this trend continues, BMW will reclaim the number one position for the first time in 7 years since 2015.

Despite semiconductor supply instability caused by COVID-19, BMW's vehicle sales have steadily increased every year. Sales, which were 44,191 units in 2019, rose to 58,393 units in 2020 and 65,669 units last year. A BMW official explained that they increased the volume secured domestically through cooperation with the German headquarters.

The two companies have different strategies for targeting the Korean market. BMW targets consumers with a variety of models, regardless of sedans or sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Looking at this year's sales models, BMW 520 (9,294 units), BMW X3 2.0 (4,621 units), and BMW 530 (3,999 units) show a balanced mix of sedans and SUVs.

On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz focuses on sedans. Since the official launch of the E-Class in Korea in June 2016, it became the first single model in the domestic imported car market to achieve sales of 200,000 units. This year, the best-selling models were Mercedes-Benz E250 (11,425 units), Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC (9,460 units), and Mercedes-Benz S400d 4MATIC (2,802 units).

Both brands, unwilling to lose the top spot in 2022, are intensifying promotions and engaging in a fierce battle for the lead. BMW is offering discounts of around 9 to 10 million KRW on the popular 5 Series. For SUVs, the X3 and X4 are discounted by 3 to 5 million KRW, and the X5 is discounted by more than 10 million KRW. Mercedes-Benz also offers discounts of 5 to 7 million KRW on the E-Class, and up to 10 million KRW on the electric vehicle model EQS. An industry insider explained, "Although neither company openly admits it, I understand they are fiercely competing to secure the number one spot."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.