South Korea January 2019: Hyundai Palisade up to #4

The Hyundai Palisade is the 4th best-selling vehicle in South Korea in January.

This article along with all South Korea monthly articles since January 2018 have been updated with the Top 85 foreign models.

The South Korean new car market is up 1.6% year-on-year in January to 135.662 units, with local manufacturers (+4.5%) for once doing a lot better than foreign carmakers (-13.7%). Market leader Hyundai (+22.5%) is very dynamic this month at over 55.000 units and 40.7% share while sister brand Kia (-2.8%) retreats to 38.000 and 28%. Ssangyong (+14.5%) posts a very solid gain seeing it bypass Renault Samsung (-19.2%) and GM Korea (-35.6%), something that new luxury brand Genesis (-17.6%) also does, ranking #5 overall while foreign best-seller Mercedes (-22.8%) is up to #4 despite a steep drop. Lexus (+24%) and Toyota (+12.8%) also shine in the Top 10 whereas BMW (-49.6%) implodes. Further down, Lamborghini (+600%), Audi (+227.1%), Jeep/Chrysler (+185.9%), Rolls Royce (+183.3%), Honda (+83.3%) and Mini (+27.1%) stun

Model-wise, below the Hyundai Grandeur (+5%), Porter (+43.3%) and Santa Fe (+136.8%), the all-new Hyundai Palisade stuns the world and surges 22 spots on its inaugural moth in December to land directly at #4, a little more than 1.000 units below its smaller sibling the Santa Fe. Such success was definitely not in the books as the Palisade could even overtake the Santa Fe in the coming months. The Kia K9 (+724.4%), Soul (+232.3%), K3 (+159.9%), Ssangyong Korando Sports (+64.4%), Genesis G90 (+47.7%), Samsung QM6 (+31.6%), Hyundai Tucson (+29.8%), Kia Carnival (+21.6%) and K5 (+16.3%) also impress further down.

The Mercedes E-Class (-19.4%) holds onto the top spot in the foreign models ranking, selling almost 3 times the amount of any other nameplate despite a hefty drop. The Lexus ES (+63.2%) remains at #2 like last month ahead of the BMW 3 Series (+11.9%), 5 Series (-69.7%) and Mercedes C-Class. The Audi A6 returns at #6 while the Mercedes CLS (+6011.1%) and Honda Accord (+24700%) post otherworldly year-on-year gains in the remainder of the Top 10. The Jeep Compass (#24) and Volvo XC40 (#28) top new launches.

Previous post: South Korea Full Year 2018: Hyundai Grandeur resists Santa Fe assault, Genesis brand at 3.4% share

One year ago: South Korea January 2018: Genesis above Renault Samsung

Full January 2019 Top 30 All-brands, Top 56 All local models and Top 85 foreign models.