South Korea April 2022: Kia #1 for 3rd time in 4 months, Hyundai Porter and Kia Bongo on top
The Hyundai Porter is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea in April.
The South Korean new light vehicle market reduces its fall to -11.5% to 142,698 sales in April as parts shortages continue to impact the industry. New subsidies for eco-friendly cars has somehow prevented a larger drop. The year-to-date volume now stands at 512,728 units, off -13.5% over a year ago. In the detail, local manufacturers are down -11.8% this month to 119,628 while foreigners drop -9.8% to 23,070. Year-to-date, locals drop -13.6% to 427,926 and foreigners are down -13% to 84,802. A momentous change atop the brands ranking is starting to cement itself: Kia (-2%) is the #1 brand at home for the 2nd consecutive month and the third time this year, solidifying its year-to-date leadership (-5.2%) with a 4,000 sales advantage over Hyundai, down -14.6% this month and -19.7% YTD. Genesis (-18.7%) easily holds onto the third position but sees its market share thaw to 7.9% vs. 8.5% YTD. Mercedes (-7.2%) remains the most popular foreign brand at #4 overall, distancing BMW (+8/9%). These are the only two foreigners in the Top 8 as Ssangyong (+45.8%) on plant closure-affected low year-ago sales, GM Korea (-46.1%) and Renault Samsung (-57.4%) follow. Volvo (+5.5%) braves the negative market at #9 with Audi (-20.4%) rounding out the Top 10. Toyota (+23.9%), Land Rover (+58.8%), Bentley (+83.3%) post the only additional gains in market just as newcomer Polestar is up three spots on March to #17.
Over in the foreign models charts, the Hyundai Porter (-8.3%) and Kia Bongo (-4.4%) are the two best-selling vehicles for the 2nd time in the past 3 months and are now also #1 and #2 year-to-date. Part of the reason for this success is the lower amount of semiconductors needed to produce these two vehicles with has helped production. Thanks to the end of a production bottleneck, The Hyundai Avante (aka Elantra), down -14% year-on-year, rallies back up 8 spots on March to land on the third step of the podium. The Kia Sorento (-10.9%) is down two two ranks to #4, distancing the Hyundai Grandeur (-46.4%) and Kia Carnival (-40.9%) in great difficulty. The Kia Sportage (+290.4%) benefits from both the new generation and its EV variant but is down four spots on last month to #7. The Hyundai Tucson (-6.8%) resists best in the remainder of the Top 10. The Hyundai Casper (#15) is the best-selling recent launch (<12 months) above the Kia EV6 (#17) and Genesis GV60 (#35).
Looking at foreign models, the podium is identical to year-to-date, with the Mercedes E-Class (-12.4%) in the lead above the BMW 5 Series (+28.6%) and Mercedes S-Class (+74.2%) in tow and faring extremely well. The Mercedes C-Class (+342.2%) is up 37 spots on last month to #4 vs. #13 year-to-date distancing the BMW 3 Series (-2.7%) and 6 Series (+64.1%). The Mercedes GLB (+2.2%) jumps from outside the March 2022 Top 50 directly to #7 but the hero of the month is the Polestar 2 up 22 ranks to #8 and breaking into the South Korean Top 10 for the first time. The Volvo S90 (+46.4%), BMW 7 Series (+70.4%), Volvo XC40 (+18.7%), Jeep Wrangler (+38.2%) and Toyota RAV4 (+92.9%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 20, with the Mercedes G Class (+67.7%) also strong and the BMW i4 celebrating its first Top 50 finish directly at #24.
Previous month: South Korea March 2022: Kia leads, now #1 year-to-date in market off -19.2%
One year ago: Hyundai Grandeur back on top, Staria and Ioniq 5 land in market down -2.5%
Full April 2022 Top 30 All-brands, Top 55 All local models and Top 50 foreigners below.
South Korea April 2022 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Apr-22 | % | /21 | Mar | 2022 | % | /21 | Pos | FY21 |
| 1 | Kia | 50,095 | 35.1% | -2.0% | 1 | 171,759 | 33.5% | -5.2% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Hyundai | 48,125 | 33.7% | -14.6% | 2 | 167,796 | 32.7% | -19.7% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Genesis | 11,290 | 7.9% | -18.7% | 3 | 43,717 | 8.5% | -6.5% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 7,822 | 5.5% | -7.2% | 4 | 25,964 | 5.1% | -6.1% | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | BMW | 6,658 | 4.7% | 8.9% | 5 | 24,701 | 4.8% | 5.1% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Ssangyong | 4,839 | 3.4% | 45.8% | 6 | 19,317 | 3.8% | 21.1% | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | GM Korea | 2,951 | 2.1% | -46.1% | 8 | 10,350 | 2.0% | -54.7% | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Renault Samsung | 2,328 | 1.6% | -57.4% | 7 | 14,987 | 2.9% | -19.4% | 7 | 6 |
| 9 | Volvo | 1,332 | 0.9% | 5.5% | 9 | 4,692 | 0.9% | -4.5% | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | Audi | 1,051 | 0.7% | -20.4% | 11 | 4,702 | 0.9% | -46.1% | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Porsche | 918 | 0.6% | -6.1% | 13 | 3,323 | 0.6% | -6.4% | 13 | 16 |
| 12 | Volkswagen | 847 | 0.6% | -21.6% | 12 | 4,221 | 0.8% | -26.3% | 11 | 11 |
| 13 | Mini | 779 | 0.5% | -25.9% | 10 | 3,603 | 0.7% | -7.2% | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Toyota | 648 | 0.5% | 23.9% | 16 | 1,757 | 0.3% | -6.6% | 16 | 18 |
| 15 | Jeep | 565 | 0.4% | -43.6% | 15 | 2,045 | 0.4% | -44.5% | 14 | 13 |
| 16 | Lexus | 478 | 0.3% | -42.1% | 14 | 2,019 | 0.4% | -28.0% | 15 | 14 |
| 17 | Polestar | 460 | 0.3% | new | 20 | 729 | 0.1% | new | 23 | – |
| 18 | Lincoln | 267 | 0.2% | -40.3% | 22 | 810 | 0.2% | -48.6% | 21 | 20 |
| 19 | Chevrolet | 260 | 0.2% | -64.7% | 17 | 1,611 | 0.3% | -52.5% | 17 | 15 |
| 20 | Honda | 195 | 0.1% | -17.0% | 23 | 868 | 0.2% | -11.4% | 20 | 19 |
| 21 | Land Rover | 189 | 0.1% | 58.8% | 19 | 932 | 0.2% | -12.5% | 19 | 21 |
| 22 | Ford | 186 | 0.1% | -79.4% | 21 | 1,148 | 0.2% | -48.8% | 18 | 17 |
| 23 | Peugeot | 163 | 0.1% | -26.2% | 18 | 746 | 0.1% | 14.1% | 22 | 22 |
| 24 | Cadillac | 72 | 0.1% | -5.3% | 25 | 211 | 0.0% | -39.9% | 25 | 23 |
| 25 | Bentley | 66 | 0.0% | 83.3% | 26 | 188 | 0.0% | 106.6% | 26 | 26 |
| 26 | Maserati | 58 | 0.0% | -21.6% | 24 | 235 | 0.0% | -11.0% | 24 | 24 |
| 27 | Lamborghini | 20 | 0.0% | -45.9% | 27 | 83 | 0.0% | -29.7% | 27 | 27 |
| 28 | Jaguar | 19 | 0.0% | -32.1% | 30 | 63 | 0.0% | -68.7% | 29 | 28 |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce | 12 | 0.0% | -50.0% | 28 | 79 | 0.0% | 2.6% | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | DS | 4 | 0.0% | new | 29 | 33 | 0.0% | new | 31 | – |
| 31 | Citroen | 1 | 0.0% | -98.2% | 31 | 39 | 0.0% | -75.2% | 30 | 25 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 119,628 | 83.8% | -11.8% | – | 427,926 | 83.5% | -13.6% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 23,070 | 16.2% | -9.8% | – | 84,802 | 16.5% | -13.0% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 142,698 | 100.0% | -11.5% | – | 512,728 | 100.0% | -13.5% | – | – |
South Korea April 2022 – local models:
| Pos | Model | Apr-22 | /21 | Mar | 2022 | /21 | Pos | FY21 |
| 1 | Hyundai Porter | 8,423 | -8.3% | 4 | 26,569 | -26.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia Bongo | 6,402 | -4.4% | 5 | 21,760 | -7.2% | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Hyundai Avante | 6,382 | -14.0% | 11 | 19,408 | -29.6% | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Kia Sorento | 5,551 | -10.9% | 2 | 20,828 | -22.9% | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Hyundai Grandeur | 5,192 | -46.4% | 1 | 18,151 | -48.9% | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | Kia Carnival | 5,121 | -40.9% | 9 | 16,427 | -48.9% | 9 | 3 |
| 7 | Kia Sportage | 4,556 | 290.4% | 3 | 17,711 | 296.8% | 7 | 16 |
| 8 | Hyundai Palisade | 4,461 | -22.8% | 6 | 17,164 | -12.1% | 8 | 10 |
| 9 | Kia K8 | 4,186 | -16.6% | 18 | 12,406 | 15.6% | 15 | 12 |
| 10 | Hyundai Tucson | 4,175 | -6.8% | 17 | 13,218 | -40.1% | 14 | 11 |
| 11 | Hyundai Sonata | 4,165 | -41.1% | 7 | 14,694 | -30.4% | 10 | 6 |
| 12 | Genesis G80 | 4,023 | -33.1% | 10 | 18,146 | -7.5% | 6 | 9 |
| 13 | Kia Ray | 3,993 | 4.9% | 13 | 14,375 | 23.0% | 13 | 18 |
| 14 | Kia Niro | 3,613 | 174.1% | 21 | 9,819 | 111.8% | 19 | 25 |
| 15 | Hyundai Casper | 3,420 | new | 12 | 14,397 | new | 12 | 34 |
| 16 | Kia Seltos | 3,364 | -3.6% | 8 | 14,636 | -0.5% | 11 | 15 |
| 17 | Kia EV6 | 2,976 | new | 19 | 7,486 | new | 26 | 32 |
| 18 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 2,963 | 2499.1% | 15 | 10,542 | 9147.4% | 18 | 24 |
| 19 | Kia Morning | 2,790 | -16.7% | 14 | 9,583 | -20.8% | 20 | 19 |
| 20 | Kia K5 | 2,624 | -60.3% | 20 | 11,170 | -54.4% | 16 | 8 |
| 21 | Hyundai Staria | 2,387 | 1410.8% | 23 | 9,350 | 5817.7% | 21 | 21 |
| 22 | Kia K3 | 2,351 | -5.6% | 24 | 7,736 | 9.9% | 24 | 20 |
| 23 | SsangYong Rexton Sports | 2,310 | 62.7% | 16 | 10,638 | 83.1% | 17 | 22 |
| 24 | Genesis G90 | 2,129 | 175.1% | 27 | 5,177 | 115.8% | 28 | 41 |
| 25 | Genesis GV70 | 2,100 | -49.5% | 26 | 9,014 | -36.6% | 22 | 14 |
| 26 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 1,997 | -51.2% | 28 | 7,696 | -50.2% | 25 | 13 |
| 27 | Genesis GV80 | 1,753 | -24.5% | 25 | 7,370 | -7.2% | 27 | 23 |
| 28 | Kia Mohave | 1,497 | 12.3% | 34 | 3,705 | -15.7% | 32 | 33 |
| 29 | SsangYong Tivoli | 1,421 | 37.6% | 31 | 4,946 | -2.2% | 30 | 29 |
| 30 | Chevrolet Spark | 1,363 | -18.8% | 32 | 3,288 | -55.6% | 33 | 27 |
| 31 | Hyundai Nexo | 1,294 | 2.3% | 39 | 2,708 | -6.9% | 36 | 35 |
| 32 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 1,109 | -45.1% | 29 | 4,609 | -30.4% | 31 | 26 |
| 33 | Samsung XM3 | 1,104 | -23.5% | 30 | 5,108 | -7.7% | 29 | 28 |
| 34 | Samsung QM6 | 847 | -75.2% | 22 | 8,265 | -23.6% | 23 | 17 |
| 35 | Genesis GV60 | 796 | new | 36 | 2,007 | new | 39 | 52 |
| 36 | Hyundai Venue | 790 | -35.5% | 37 | 3,003 | -37.9% | 34 | 30 |
| 37 | Hyundai Kona | 773 | -48.3% | 35 | 2,934 | -52.1% | 35 | 31 |
| 38 | SsangYong Korando | 771 | 62.3% | 38 | 2,480 | -7.7% | 38 | 36 |
| 39 | Kia K9 | 664 | 61.2% | 33 | 2,689 | 55.4% | 37 | 39 |
| 40 | Genesis G70 | 489 | -21.8% | 40 | 2,003 | -22.3% | 40 | 37 |
| 41 | SsangYong Rexton | 307 | -21.3% | 41 | 1,145 | -52.1% | 41 | 40 |
| 42 | Kia Stinger | 235 | -35.4% | 43 | 783 | -41.3% | 44 | 45 |
| 43 | Samsung SM6 | 223 | -10.8% | 44 | 833 | -14.5% | 43 | 44 |
| 44 | Chevrolet Trax | 134 | -60.8% | 47 | 545 | -60.2% | 45 | 47 |
| 45 | Chevrolet Malibu | 110 | -56.3% | 46 | 526 | -53.8% | 46 | 46 |
| 46 | Renault Samsung Master | 82 | 67.3% | 50 | 268 | -16.3% | 48 | 50 |
| 47 | Chevrolet Colorado | 74 | -63.7% | 42 | 1,083 | -5.3% | 42 | 42 |
| 48 | Renault Samsung Zoe | 72 | 9.1% | 45 | 401 | 85.6% | 47 | 54 |
| 49 | Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 59 | new | – | 59 | new | 53 | – |
| 50 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 58 | new | – | 58 | new | 54 | – |
| 51 | Chevrolet Traverse | 34 | -90.9% | 52 | 137 | -87.9% | 49 | 43 |
| 52 | Ssangyong Rexton Emotion | 30 | new | 49 | 108 | new | 51 | – |
| 53 | Hyundai Veloster | 22 | -47.6% | 51 | 99 | -51.9% | 52 | 56 |
| 54 | Chevrolet Corvette/Camaro | 10 | 0.0% | 53 | 47 | 56.7% | 55 | 60 |
| 55 | Renault Samsung Twizy | 0 | -100.0% | 48 | 112 | -37.1% | 50 | 58 |
South Korea April 2022 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Apr-22 | /21 | Mar | 2022 | /21 | Pos | FY21 |
| 1 | Mercedes E Class | 2,781 | -12.4% | 1 | 10,251 | -8.2% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | BMW 5 Series | 2,390 | 28.6% | 3 | 7,821 | 14.2% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Mercedes S Class | 1,287 | 74.2% | 4 | 5,401 | 367.2% | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Mercedes C Class | 1,269 | 342.2% | 41 | 1,448 | 73.8% | 13 | 35 |
| 5 | BMW 3 Series | 694 | -2.7% | 6 | 2,594 | -13.9% | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | BMW 6 Series | 502 | 64.1% | 32 | 1,385 | 9.7% | 14 | 26 |
| 7 | Mercedes GLB | 473 | 2.2% | n/a | 828 | n/a | 31 | n/a |
| 8 | Polestar 2 | 460 | new | 30 | 729 | new | 35 | – |
| 9 | BMW X3 | 433 | -18.6% | 9 | 1,828 | 16.7% | 8 | 14 |
| 10 | Volvo S90 | 429 | 46.4% | 8 | 1,537 | 73.7% | 12 | 28 |
| 11 | BMW X5 | 427 | -19.1% | 7 | 2,190 | 22.1% | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | Audi A6 | 389 | -45.8% | 19 | 1,543 | -67.6% | 11 | 3 |
| 13 | Lexus ES | 383 | -28.0% | 15 | 1,604 | -12.0% | 9 | 9 |
| 14 | BMW 7 Series | 380 | 70.4% | 35 | 970 | -1.6% | 23 | 33 |
| 15 | Mercedes GLC | 376 | -47.3% | 10 | 1,176 | -56.6% | 19 | 10 |
| 16 | Mercedes CLS | 350 | -32.6% | 11 | 946 | -42.7% | 25 | 25 |
| 17 | Volvo XC40 | 330 | 18.7% | 33 | 854 | -8.3% | 29 | 31 |
| 18 | Jeep Wrangler | 322 | 38.2% | n/a | 471 | -54.7% | 46 | 29 |
| 19 | BMW X6 | 300 | -24.6% | 14 | 1,311 | -4.9% | 17 | 21 |
| 20 | Toyota RAV4 | 297 | 92.9% | – | 301 | -55.0% | 59 | 40 |
| 21 | Mercedes G Class | 275 | 67.7% | n/a | 369 | -60.9% | 52 | 41 |
| 22 | Mercedes GLE | 269 | -77.7% | 5 | 1,950 | -21.7% | 7 | 8 |
| 23 | Porsche Cayenne | 255 | -47.2% | 18 | 1,276 | -33.4% | 18 | 24 |
| 24 | BMW i4 | 250 | new | n/a | 282 | new | 60 | – |
| 25 | BMW X1 | 248 | 34.8% | 46 | 836 | -26.1% | 30 | 45 |
| 26 | BMW X7 | 242 | -36.5% | 12 | 1,604 | 37.1% | 10 | 19 |
| 27 | Porsche Macan | 235 | 240.6% | n/a | 345 | n/a | 54 | n/a |
| 28 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 226 | -56.7% | 16 | 1,314 | -20.5% | 15 | 12 |
| 29 | Mini Countryman | 220 | -20.6% | 23 | 1,004 | -14.3% | 22 | 30 |
| 30 | VW Arteon | 211 | 70.2% | 49 | 560 | -47.7% | 38 | n/a |
| 31 | Toyota Camry | 199 | 95.1% | 20 | 816 | 23.3% | 32 | 42 |
| 32 | VW Golf | 197 | 19600.0% | n/a | 492 | 49100.0% | 44 | n/a |
| 33 | BMW X4 | 181 | -56.2% | 13 | 1,313 | 25.8% | 16 | 20 |
| 34 | VW Tiguan | 181 | -66.4% | 17 | 1,106 | -47.2% | 20 | 15 |
| 35 | Mercedes AMG GT | 179 | -50.6% | 42 | 372 | -10.6% | 51 | 49 |
| 36 | Volvo XC60 | 178 | -22.3% | 44 | 928 | -18.2% | 26 | 27 |
| 37 | Porsche 911 | 176 | 179.4% | 40 | 535 | 127.7% | 40 | n/a |
| 38 | Jeep Renegade | 171 | -40.0% | 21 | 914 | -13.7% | 27 | 32 |
| 39 | Mercedes GLS | 160 | 201.9% | 25 | 561 | 68.5% | 37 | n/a |
| 40 | Volvo XC90 | 159 | 47.2% | n/a | 480 | 31.5% | 45 | n/a |
| 41 | VW T-Roc | 152 | 16.0% | 24 | 962 | 130.1% | 24 | 37 |
| 42 | Audi Q5 | 143 | n/a | 43 | 546 | 163.8% | 39 | n/a |
| 43 | Mini Clubman | 135 | -43.5% | 31 | 661 | -29.3% | 36 | 34 |
| 44 | Mini Electric | 135 | new | 34 | 377 | new | 50 | – |
| 45 | Mercedes A Class | 119 | -75.1% | 27 | 810 | -66.3% | 33 | 18 |
| 46 | Lincoln Aviator | 118 | -34.4% | 48 | 533 | -35.6% | 41 | 48 |
| 47 | Volvo C40 | 118 | new | n/a | 152 | new | 71 | – |
| 48 | Porsche Taycan | 115 | -3.4% | n/a | 520 | 50.3% | 42 | n/a |
| 49 | Mercedes CLA | 109 | 3533.3% | 26 | 870 | 2458.8% | 28 | 50 |
| 50 | BMW 2 Series | 102 | 88.9% | 47 | 424 | -41.9% | 49 | n/a |
Source: KAIDA
This Post Has 4 Comments
Renault about to sell an equity stake of the Samsung-Renault JV to Geely.
Maybe that partner can breath new life into an eroding operation
Something has to happen there, when suddenly Polestar entered the scene. No other Chineses in the chart. Maybe they need more bateries and it will be easier to get them from local giants. I can’t think of another reason.
Is Hyundai Porter a 6 wheeled vehicle, if so how does it come under the light duty vehicle category. I think it should go under Medium Commercial Vehicle category.
Its also possible that the truck comes in both 4 wheel and 6 wheel variants.
It’s a four wheel vehicle.