BMW Reclaims No.1 Imported Car Spot in 8 Years... 'Korea First' Strategy Works

2nd Place Mercedes-Benz, 3rd Audi, 4th Volvo
BMW Unveils New 5 Series First in Korea Worldwide
Priority Strategy for Korean Market Including Charging Infrastructure Expansion
Last Year’s Imported Car Market Reversed After 4 Years

BMW has reclaimed the top spot in the domestic imported car market after 8 years. Mercedes-Benz, which had dominated the number one position for seven consecutive years until last year, dropped to second place by a narrow margin of 698 units.

According to the data on the number of registrations by imported car brand released on the 4th by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), BMW sold 77,395 units annually, becoming the top-selling imported car brand in Korea last year. Mercedes-Benz ranked second with 76,697 units sold. Comparing sales volume to the previous year, BMW decreased by 1.5%, and Mercedes-Benz by 5.3%.

The battle for third place was also intense. The difference in annual sales volume between third and fourth place was only 850 units. Audi took third place with 17,868 units sold, followed by Volvo in fourth with 17,018 units. Lexus ranked fifth with 13,561 units.

The reason BMW was able to rise to first place in the fierce imported car competition was due to its 'Korea First' strategy, prioritizing the Korean market by unveiling the new 5 Series, its flagship model, in Korea first worldwide.

BMW’s investment in expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure also moved consumers. Until last year, BMW had installed 1,100 electric vehicle chargers and announced plans to add 1,000 more this year. Additionally, BMW opened its electric vehicle chargers for use by all domestic electric vehicle drivers. A BMW Korea official said, "The headquarters’ Korea market priority policy and steady expansion of charging infrastructure have borne fruit," adding, "Looking at last year’s sales, we are also satisfied that not just a specific model but all models sold well evenly."

Meanwhile, the annual sales volume of imported cars in the domestic market last year was 271,034 units, down 4.4% from the previous year. This is the first time in four years since 2019 that the domestic imported car market has contracted. The growth of domestic premium brands has emerged as a competitor to imported cars, and the market has been reorganized around eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids. Genesis’s domestic sales volume surpassed 100,000 units in 2020 and rose to around 120,000 units last year. Although hybrid vehicles are gaining popularity domestically, the relatively small hybrid lineup among imported car brands is also cited as a recent cause of the decline in imported car sales.

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