South Korea October 2022: Hyundai Porter and Kia Bongo lead, Hyundai Ioniq 6 just misses out on Top 10

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 ranks #11 at home in October.

The South Korean new light vehicle market registers a second consecutive month of double-digit gains in October at +16.1% to 145,389 sales. Keep in mind October 2021 was off -21.6% on the year prior. This includes 120,026 local vehicles (+12.8%) and 25,363 foreigners (+35.2%). Year-to-date, sales remain in negative at -4.2% to 1,355,366 units including 1,129,793 locals (-4.4%) and 225,573 foreigners (-3.4%). Hyundai (+6.8%) confirms it is back in charge of its home market with 34% share vs. 29.6% for sister brand Kia (+13.7%) which has been the month #1 for 5 months this year. Genesis (-2.1%) loses ground but stays in third place above a spectacular Ssangyong (+139.4%). Mercedes (+113%) overtakes BMW (+40%) with both brands scoring fantastic gains. Renault Korea (-13.3%) follow while GM Korea (+63.3%) compensates for a low year-ago volume.

In the local models ranking, the Hyundai Porter (+123.2%) displays outstanding shape to hold onto the top spot for the 4th consecutive month and the 7th time this year. Its twin the Kia Bongo (+67.1%) also shoot up in 2nd place and advances to the third spot YTD vs. #7 over the Full Year 2021. The Hyundai Avante (+66.7%) climbs onto the podium for the first time since last April, ahead of the Kia Sorento (-4.4%) down two ranks on last month to #4 and the Kia Carnival (+42.4%) rallying back up 19 spots to #5. Below a solid Kia Sportage (+16.3%), the new Ssangyong Torres is down three ranks to #7, still the 2nd highest ranking hit by a SSangyong model since at least 2013. The Hyundai Grandeur (-50.7%) freefalls but the new generation has received 90,000 pre-orders. The Hyundai Palisade (+60.6%) and Casper (+55.9%) close out the Top 10 in strong fashion. Lastly the new Hyundai Ioniq 6 just misses out on a first Top 10 finish at #11.

Over in the foreign models aisle, the Mercedes E-Class (+345.5%) returns to the top spot it hold year-to-date, overtaking the BMW 5 Series (+110.6%), both models sporting excellent results. The Audi Q4 e-Tron is up 7 spots on its inaugural month to land in third place above the Mercedes GLE (+28.5%). The BMW X5 (+110.3%) and X3 (+46.5%) are in great shape as is the Porsche Cayenne (+725%) in 10th place. The VW ID.4 stays at #8 for its 2nd month in market. We welcome the Mercedes EQE (#25) in the charts while the Peugeot 208 (#34) and Range Rover (#50) make very rare appearances in the Top 50.

Previous month: South Korea September 2022: Ssangyong Torres up to #4, Hyundai Ioniq 6 in Top 20, sales up 22.6%

One year ago: South Korea October 2021: Genesis G80 on podium, Hyundai Ioniq 5 in Top 10 in market down -21.6%

Full October 2022 Top 30 all brands, Top 60 all domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.