South Korea Full Year 2024: Kia Sorento first non-Hyundai #1 in 26 years

The Sorento is the first Kia to top the Korean charts in at least 35 years.

Discover 35 years of South Korean Historical Data here.

New light vehicle sales in South Korea drop -6.2% year-on-year in 2024 to 1,632,571 units. This includes 1,364,908 domestic vehicles (-6%) and 263,288 foreign ones (-8.4%). Hyundai (-9.6%) stays at #1 with almost 575,000 sales, keeping Kia (-4.2%) at bay. Note Kia was #1 year-to-date up until May. Genesis (+8%) goes against the market and reaches 8.4% share vs. 7.3% last year. BMW (-4.7%), Mercedes (-13.4%) and KG Mobility (-25.7%) all camp on their 2023 ranking from #4 to #6. Renault Korea (+80.6%) shoots up thanks to the new Grand Koleos with Tesla (+80.7%) also outstanding at #8. GM Korea (-35.9%) falls apart at #9.

In the domestic models ranking, the Kia Sorento (+10.2%) manages its first ever win with just under 95,000 sales. This is a massive event as it is the first Kia model to top the annual charts ever (we have data up to 1990) and the first time since 1998 (Daewoo Matiz) that’s it’s not a Hyundai at the top. Kia does even better and delivers a 1-2 with the Carnival (+18.5%) up two spots on 2023 to #2. The Hyundai Santa Fe (+50.3%) is pulled up by the new generation to #3 vs. #8 last year, while the Sportage (+6.5%) makes it three Kias in the Top 4. Leader in 2023, the Hyundai Grandeur (-36.6%) freefalls to #5 but stays the favourite sedan in the market. The Hyundai Sonata (+44.7%), Tucson (+26.3%) and Kia Seltos (+21.8%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10. The most popular 2024 launch is the Renault Grand Koleos at #21, peaking at #5 in November.

Looking at foreign models, the Mercedes E-Class (+9.8%) is the best-seller again ahead of the BMW 5 Series (+0.2%) and Tesla Model Y (+34.8%), meaning the podium is unchanged on 2023. The Tesla Model 3 (+1802.5%!) surges from outside the 2023 Top 50 directly into 4th place while the Mercedes GLC (+25.3%) rounds out the Top 5. The Mercedes CLE (#25) is the highest ranked 2024 launch.

Previous year: South Korea 2023: Hyundai Grandeur reclaims lead

2 years ago: South Korea 2022: Kia threatens Hyundai for #1, Hyundai Porter and Kia Sorento on top

Full December and Year 2024 Top 30 All brands, Top 62 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models vs. Full Year 2023 figures below.