South Korea May 2017: Ssangyong G4 Rexton & Kia Stinger land

Ssangyong G4 Rexton

* See the Top 6 local brands and Top 56 models by clicking on the title *

135.453 local models found a buyer in South Korea in May, a 7% year-on-year drop leading to a 2% decline for the year-to-date tally at 639.852. Hyundai manages to fall slower than the market at -3% to 43.7% share while Kia falls faster at -9% to 32.1%. GM Korea (-31%), Renault Samsung (-16%) and Genesis (-53%) all fall heavily but Ssangyong is up 11% to 4th place overall thanks to a new launch we detail below.

The Hyundai Grandeur remains the best-selling car in South Korea this month. 

Model-wise, Hyundai trusts the top four spots like last month with the Grandeur (+145%) on top for the 6th month in a row and also posting a five-digit sales figure for the 6th consecutive time. This month the Hyundai Porter (+4%) is up to #2, distancing the Avante (aka Elantra, -8%) and Sonata (-11%). Helped by the new model, the Kia Morning (aka Picanto) is up 23% to 5th place while the Kia Carnival (+22%) also shines inside the Top 6.

New arrival for May: the Kia Stinger. 

Now that the Ssangyong Tivoli has settled inside the Top 10 (#9 in May and year-to-date), the brand has launched the all-new Rexton, baptised G4 Rexton, resulting in a 608% year-on-year surge for the nameplate shooting up 25 spots on April to 20th place overall. We welcome an all-new nameplate in the South Korean ranking this month: the sporty Kia Stinger landing at #41 for now with a modest 370 sales. No doubt this will improve over the next few months. The Samsung QM6 (aka Renault Koleos) at #22 and Chevrolet Volt at #49 are the only other two recent launches in market (<12 months).

Previous post: South Korea March-April 2017: Hyundai Grandeur dominates

One year ago: South Korea May 2016: Samsung SM6 and Ssangyong Tivoli break records

Full May 2017 Top 6 brands and Top 56 models below.