South Korea August 2024: Hyundai Sonata #1, Kia EV3 breaks into Top 10

The Kia EV3 ranks #9 at home for its 2nd month in market.

New car sales in South Korea climb 5.5% year-on-year in August to 137,014 thanks to domestic manufacturers (+7.8% to 114,751) while foreigners stumble (-4.7% to 22,263). Year-to-date sales remain frankly in negative at -7.8% to 1,066,536 including 896,644 locals (-8.7%) and 169,892 foreigners (-3%). Hyundai (+3%) is back above sister brand Kia (+11%) but with less than 1,000 sales margin. Hyundai increases its year-to-date gap with Kia to a mere 1,871 units. Genesis (+44%) is in fantastic shape, exceeding 10,000 units for the 10th consecutive month. BMW (-6.7%) continues to lead foreign brands despite a year-on-year loss, ahead of Mercedes (-19.8%), Tesla, Volkswagen (+2%) and Lexus (+24.2%).

In the domestic models ranking, the Hyundai Sonata (+110.5%) surges to snap its first monthly win since October 2019. But this stunning score is due to taxi models imported from China which account for 49% of the nameplate’s August volume. The Grandeur (-29.9%) makes it two Hyundai sedans in the lead. The next four models all outpace the market with double-digit gains or more. The Kia Sportage is up 14.9% to #3, the Hyundai Santa Fe up 105.9% to #4, the Kia Seltos up 58.1% to #5 and the Kia Carnival up 12.1% to #6.

The Hyundai Casper (+32.3%) returns inside the Top 10 for the first time since last November just as the new Kia EV3 breaks this same Top 10 for the first time at #9 for only its 2nd month of sales. Still leader YTD, the Kia Sorento (-51.2%) implodes to #13 this month due to its Hwaseong Plant 1 plant stopping production to prepare for the arrival of the Tasman pickup. Newcomers this month are the KGM Actyon at #29 (pre-orders have exceeded 10,000 units) and the Renault Grand Koleos at #50.

The Mercedes E-Class (+61.9%) takes the lead of the foreign models ranking for August but it’s the Tesla Model Y (+181.9%) that manages the event of the month by snapping the YTD top spot off the BMW 5 Series (-34.5%). The Tesla Model 3 remains at #4 ahead of the VW ID.4 (+228.9%) reaching a ranking record at #5.

Previous month: South Korea July 2024: Kia back to #1, EV3 lands

One year ago: South Korea August 2023: Hyundai and Grandeur back in charge in stable market

Full August 2024 Top 30 All brands, Top 56 All domestic cars and Top 50 foreign cars below.