30% of Imported Cars Sold in the First Half of the Year Priced Over 100 Million Won... Record High

Breaking Records Every Year in the Last 5 Years
Impact of Eco-Friendly Vehicle Market Expansion and Income Polarization

It was revealed that over 37,000 imported luxury cars priced above 100 million KRW were sold in the first half of this year. This is the highest sales record for the first half of the year ever.

According to data released by the Korea Imported Automobile Association on the 30th, 37,239 imported cars priced over 100 million KRW were sold from January to June this year. This represents a 9.3% increase compared to the first half of last year (34,055 units).

The sales proportion of high-priced imported cars among all imported cars also rose by 2.5 percentage points compared to the first half of the previous year. This accounts for 28.5% of the total imported car sales (130,689 units) in the first half of this year.

Over the past five years, the sales volume of imported cars priced over 100 million KRW has set new records every year, showing a steep upward trend. Based on the first half of the year, sales increased from 11,084 units in 2019 to 19,229 units in 2020, and surged to 33,741 units in 2021.

Among these, the sales proportion of high-priced imported cars showed a continuous increase, with 10.1% in 2019, 15% in 2020, and 22.8% in 2021 based on the first half of the year, reaching 30% this year.

The total number of imported cars sold decreased slightly from about 147,000 units in the first half of 2021 to about 131,000 units last year, and also declined slightly this year, but the sales volume of high-priced imported cars nearly tripled in proportion over four years.

Industry insiders interpret this phenomenon as resulting from income polarization, which has led to increased sales of ultra-luxury imported car brands. Sales of ultra-luxury imported car brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Mercedes-Maybach in the first half of this year totaled 2,066 units, a 28.3% increase from 1,610 units in the first half of last year.

The electric SUV 'The New EQE SUV' launched by Mercedes-Benz [Image source=Provided by Mercedes-Benz]

Additionally, the expansion of premium eco-friendly vehicle lineups such as electric and hybrid cars by major imported car brands is also analyzed to have contributed to the market growth.

BMW launched the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sports activity vehicle (SAV) ‘New XM’ this year. Mercedes-Benz also introduced high-performance pure electric sedans such as ‘The New Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 4MATIC+’ this year.

According to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as of the end of last month, the total number of eco-friendly vehicles (hybrid cars, hydrogen cars, electric cars) registered in Korea was 1,844,233 units. At the end of December last year, the number of registered eco-friendly vehicles was 1,589,985 units, increasing by 254,248 units in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, internal combustion engine vehicles decreased by 872 units.

Among the high-priced imported cars sold in the first half of this year, 21,190 units were eco-friendly vehicles, accounting for 57%. This is nearly 3,700 units more than the 17,498 units sold in the first half of last year. The proportion of eco-friendly vehicles in total high-priced imported car sales also increased by 5.7%.

The increase in purchases of high-priced imported cars registered under corporate names receiving tax benefits also contributed to the expansion of the high-priced imported car market. Newly registered imported corporate cars priced over 100 million KRW increased by 1,086 units (4.7%) from 22,928 units in the first half of last year to 24,014 units in the first half of this year.

To prevent the misuse of these high-priced imported corporate cars for private purposes, the government has prepared a plan to attach light green license plates to corporate cars starting from September this year. However, this will not be applied retroactively to cars already registered.

However, there are concerns that the light green license plates may not be very effective and could even cause side effects. It is argued that simply distinguishing corporate cars with light green license plates will not deter owners from foregoing tens of millions of won in car purchase costs and tax benefits.

Some point out, “There is a tendency for the light green license plates to be flaunted as a symbol of ‘gold spoon’ status, and only those who use corporate cars properly will suffer.”

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