South Korea April 2023: Hyundai Grandeur and Kona surge up, registrations up 4.8%

The Hyundai Grandeur is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea in April.

Sales of new light vehicles in South Korea climb 4.8% year-on-year in April to 149,497 as local manufacturers (+7.5%) fare much better than foreigners (-9.4%). The picture is similar year-to-date with a market up 12.8% to 578,530 including 495,421 locals (+15.9%) and 82,609 foreigners (-2.6%). Hyundai (+13.2%) is the #1 brand for the 5th consecutive month, beating its sister brand Kia (-1.6%). The gap between the two hero carmakers year-to-date is now up to 24,198. Genesis (+7.9%) is solid in third place, selling almost double its competitor Mercedes (-21%) which is followed by BMW (-12.3%). KG Mobility – ex Ssangyong – (+15.4%) and GM Korea (+77.2%) impress below whereas Renault Korea (-22.6%) sinks to new lows. Below, Land Rover (+142.9%), Lexus (+114.4%), Porsche (+24.8%) and Ford (+75.3%) are among the best performers.

In the domestic car ranking, the Hyundai Grandeur (+92.5%) almost doubles its sales year-on-year thanks to the new generation to rank #1 for the 2nd month in a row and the third time so far this year. At 5,179 sales, Its hybrid variant accounts for 52% of its April volume. It also ranks #1 year-to-date. The Hyundai Porter (+7.7%) stays in 2nd place while the Kia Sorento (+23.1%) ensures the podium is unchanged on March. The Kia Carnival (+26.6%) and Sportage (+37.9%) sport excellent year-on-year upticks whereas the Hyundai Avante (-17.3%) and Kia Bongo (-17.9%) struggle. The Genesis G80 (+13.7%) is back inside the Top 10 at #8 and the Kia Seltos (+22.4%) closes out the Top 10 in very dynamic fashion. Below, the Hyundai Kona (+423.7%) surges ahead thanks to the new generation. The Chevrolet Trax Crossover lands directly at #18 with over 3,000 sales.

Over in the foreign models lane, the BMW 5 Series (-33%) reclaims the top spot off the Mercedes E-Class (-54%) despite the two models recording drastic falls. Mercedes places four models in the April Top 5, with the GLE (+235.3%), GLC (+114.1%) and S Class (-40.1%) in tow. The Volvo XC60 (+227%), Porsche Cayenne (+114.1%), Lexus ES (+69.2%) and BMW X3 (+23.3%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10.

Previous month: South Korea March 2023: Hyundai Grandeur (+63.8%) returns to #1, sales up 21.1%

One year ago: South Korea April 2022: Kia #1 for 3rd time in 4 months, Hyundai Porter and Kia Bongo on top

Full April 2023 Top 32 All brands, Top 55 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.