South Korea 2004: Hyundai Santa Fe takes control
Hyundai Santa Fe
* See the Top 40 best-selling local models by clicking on the title! *
After 5 consecutive years in pole position, the transition between two generations of Hyundai Sonata (EF to NF) is fatal for the nameplate: in 2004 the Hyundai Santa Fe is the most popular model in the country, but just: at 69,236 sales (-10%) it is only 664 units above the Hyundai Avante at 68,572 (-20%) and 3,326 above the Hyundai EF Sonata at 65,910 (-28%). However the new gen NF Sonata, launched in August this year, totals 31,023 sales at #9, which would still keep the Sonata nameplate in the top spot at 96,933 units (+5%)…
Kia Sportage
The Samsung SM5 is down one spot to #4 while the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Grandeur are stable at #5 and #6 respectively. Lots of newcomers this year: apart from the Hyundai NF Sonata, there is also the Hyundai Tucson landing at #8 with 32,311 sales, the new gen Kia Sportage at #12, the Kia Morning (aka Picanto) at #19, the SsangYong Rodius at #25 and the Samsung SM7 at #33. Notice also the Daewoo Matiz enjoying a second wind, up 32% to #7, the Kia Optima breaking into the year-end Top 10 for the first time at #10 and the Kia Cerato up 390% to #15.
Previous post: South Korea 6 months 2004: Hyundai Sonata on top
Full Year 2004 Top 40 Ranking Table below.
South Korea 2004:
| Pos | Model | 2004 | /03 | 2003 | Pos |
| 1 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 69,236 | -10% | 77,261 | 4 |
| 2 | Hyundai Avante XD | 68,572 | -20% | 86,006 | 2 |
| 3 | Hyundai EF Sonata | 65,910 | -28% | 92,143 | 1 |
| 4 | Samsung SM5 | 57,833 | -28% | 80,371 | 3 |
| 5 | Kia Sorento | 48,085 | -29% | 68,051 | 5 |
| 6 | Hyundai Grandeur XG | 45,616 | -16% | 54,249 | 6 |
| 7 | Daewoo Matiz | 44,894 | 32% | 34,128 | 10 |
| 8 | Hyundai Tucson | 32,311 | new | 0 | - |
| 9 | Hyundai NF Sonata | 31,023 | new | 0 | - |
| 10 | Kia Optima | 29,956 | -6% | 31,817 | 13 |
| 11 | SsangYong Rexton | 29,273 | -27% | 40,343 | 8 |
| 12 | Kia Sportage | 27,559 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 13 | Hyundai Trajet XG | 25,209 | -24% | 33,295 | 11 |
| 14 | SsangYong Musso SUT | 23,082 | -45% | 42,229 | 7 |
| 15 | Kia Cerato | 21,477 | 390% | 4,379 | 31 |
| 16 | Samsung SM3 | 20,170 | -32% | 29,878 | 15 |
| 17 | Daewoo Lacetti | 19,797 | -40% | 33,223 | 12 |
| 18 | Kia Carnival | 19,315 | -47% | 36,164 | 9 |
| 19 | Kia Morning | 18,530 | new | 0 | - |
| 20 | SsangYong Korando | 16,941 | -45% | 30,813 | 14 |
| 21 | Daewoo Magnus | 14,318 | -16% | 17,060 | 19 |
| 22 | SsangYong Chairman | 14,105 | 20% | 11,791 | 27 |
| 23 | Hyundai Terracan | 13,551 | -38% | 21,967 | 17 |
| 24 | Hyundai Equus | 12,776 | -9% | 13,983 | 24 |
| 25 | SsangYong Rodius | 11,623 | new | 0 | - |
| 26 | Hyundai Click | 11,132 | -21% | 14,026 | 23 |
| 27 | Kia Opirus | 10,185 | -22% | 13,098 | 26 |
| 28 | Kia Carens | 9,202 | -64% | 25,429 | 16 |
| 29 | Hyundai Verna | 8,883 | -38% | 14,428 | 21 |
| 30 | Kia X-Trek | 8,659 | -41% | 14,750 | 20 |
| 31 | Daewoo Kalos | 6,052 | -55% | 13,474 | 25 |
| 32 | Daewoo Rezzo | 4,938 | -73% | 18,164 | 18 |
| 33 | Samsung SM7 | 4,217 | new | 0 | - |
| 34 | Hyundai Dynasty | 2,851 | -28% | 3,975 | 33 |
| 35 | SsangYong Musso | 2,827 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 36 | Kia Rio | 2,273 | -71% | 7,844 | 29 |
| 37 | Hyundai Tuscani | 2,053 | -49% | 4,057 | 32 |
| 38 | Kia Visto | 1,841 | -78% | 8,218 | 28 |
| 39 | Hyundai Lavita | 1,656 | -56% | 3,741 | 34 |
| 40 | Kia Retona | 25 | -98% | 1,392 | 35 |
| 41 | Kia Spectra | 21 | -100% | 14,397 | 22 |
Source: KAMA, many thanks to Pedro for sharing the data!
