South Korea March 2024: Kia Sorento signs 6th win in past 7 months, Tesla Model Y triumphs

The Tesla Model Y obliterates its rivals in the foreign model ranking.

New light vehicle sales in South Korea sink -11.6% year-on-year in March to 145,658 units, including 120,395 sales (-14.6%) for local manufacturers and 25,263 (+6%) for foreigners. The year-to-date tally is now down -12.1% to 377.043 including 322,460 (-12.2%) for domestic brands and 54,584 (-11.5%) for foreign manufacturers. Hyundai (-18%) snaps its first win of the year despite a steep year-on-year fall. Kia (-7.6%) drops to 2nd place for the month but remains #1 year-to-date. Genesis (-7%) scores its fifth consecutive month over 10,000 sales in third place. BMW (+15.6%) tops foreign manufacturers above Tesla jumping from #19 in February to a fantastic 6th place this month. Volkswagen (+110%), GM Korea (+20%) and Mini (+15.9%) are also strong below.

Model-wise, the Kia Sorento (+30.2%) signs a 6th win in the past 7 months and has its hybrid variant to thank for its success: at 6,473 sales it accounts for 72.1% of its volume for the month. The Hyundai Porter (-21.9%) climbs back up to #2 despite falling heavily year-on-year while the Hyundai Santa Fe (+164.8%) stays in third place and ranks #2 year-to-date. The Kia Carnival (+11.2%) is down to #4 ahead of the Kia Sportage (+11.9%). #1 a year ago, the Hyundai Grandeur (-44.1%) is down to #6, distancing the Genesis G80 (+13.4%) up above 5,000 monthly sales for the first time since January 2022, Kia Seltos (+22%) and Ray (+12.9%) all in great shape.

Looking at foreign models, the Tesla Model Y (+484.1%) triumphs with almost 6,000 sales, which would place it #7 when including domestic models. It sells 2.6 times the #2, the BMW 5 Series (+48.8%) also outstanding. The Lexus ES (-18%) and Mercedes GLC (-3%) follow while the Mercedes C Class (+41.5%) and BMW X5 (+5.1%) both manage a positive result.

Previous month: South Korea February 2024: Market down, Kia and Sorento repeat at #1, Genesis GV80 breaks record

One year ago: South Korea March 2023: Hyundai Grandeur (+63.8%) returns to #1, sales up 21.2%

Full March 2024 Top 30 All brands, Top 51 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.