South Korea July 2025: Kia Carnival topples Sorento to #1, Hyundai Palisade #3
The Kia Sorento is the best-selling vehicle at home for the first time since June 2024.
South Korean new light vehicle sales edge up 3.4% year-on-year in July to 138,099. This positive result is solely due to foreign manufacturers up 23.2% to 27,081 whereas domestic carmakers are down -0.5% to 111,018. The year-to-date tally is up 3.5% to 962,431, including 797,434 local manufacturers (+2%) and 164,997 foreigners (+11.8%). Hyundai (+5.9%) cements its leadership above sister brand Kia (-2.4%), it is the same situation year-to-date where Hyundai (+5.7%) is far above Kia (stable). Genesis (-23.1%) manages to stay in 3rd place despite a drastic year-on-year loss, but Tesla (+174.5%) is spectacularly catching up. BMW (+1.7%) and Mercedes (+2.4%) are more muted below. KG Mobility (+5.2%) follows ahead of Renault Korea (+172.3%). Polestar (+471.8%), Audi (+36.7%) and Mini (+26.1%) shine below.
Looking at domestic models, the Kia Carnival (+2.3%) is up two spots on June to its 4th ever pole position after June 2024, October 2020 and November 2022. It remains a distant #2 year-to-date, way below the Kia Sorento (-7.1%) down to #2 for the month, and ending a streak of 10 consecutive months at #1. The Hyundai Palisade (+374%) benefits from the new models to lodge its second podium finish in the past three months at #3. Outstanding score also from the Hyundai Avante (+54.6%) at #4 while the Kia Sportage (-13%) is in difficulty but still closes the Top 5. Below, notice the Hyundai Tucson (+28.4%) and Kia K8 (+81.1%). The Kia EV4 (#25) is the best-selling recent launch above the KGM Musso EV (#26), Kia Tasman (#28), KGM Actyon (#29) and Hyundai Ioniq 9 (#31).
As for foreign models, the Tesla Model Y (+304.1%) is up 4-fold year-on-year to continue its ruthless domination, it even ranks #3 in the overall ranking including domestic cars. The BMW 5 Series (+25.2%) is back above the Mercedes E Class (-8.4%) for #2 while the Mercedes GLC (+34.2%) stays #4. The BMW X3 (+646.6%), Mercedes S-Class (+46.3%) is up 8 ranks on last month to #8 and the Volvo XC90 (+62%) is up 22 to #21.
Previous month: South Korea June 2025: Kia Sorento and Hyundai Avante on top
One year ago: South Korea July 2024: Kia back to #1, EV3 lands
Full July 2025 Top 32 All brands, Top 58 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.
South Korea July 2025 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Jul-25 | % | /24 | Jun | 2025 | % | /24 | Pos | FY24 |
| 1 | Hyundai | 48,000 | 34.8% | + 5.9% | 1 | 341,786 | 35.5% | + 5.7% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 45,133 | 32.7% | – 2.4% | 2 | 322,232 | 33.5% | – 0.0% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Genesis | 8,227 | 6.0% | – 23.1% | 3 | 69,341 | 7.2% | – 11.7% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Tesla | 7,357 | 5.3% | + 174.5% | 5 | 26,569 | 2.8% | + 32.4% | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | BMW | 6,490 | 4.7% | + 1.7% | 4 | 44,770 | 4.7% | + 7.9% | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Mercedes | 4,472 | 3.2% | + 2.4% | 6 | 37,047 | 3.9% | + 7.8% | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | KG Mobility | 4,456 | 3.2% | + 5.2% | 8 | 22,787 | 2.4% | – 19.2% | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | Renault Korea | 4,000 | 2.9% | + 172.3% | 7 | 32,065 | 3.3% | + 152.8% | 6 | 7 |
| 9 | Lexus | 1,369 | 1.0% | + 23.6% | 10 | 8,963 | 0.9% | + 19.0% | 10 | 11 |
| 10 | Audi | 1,259 | 0.9% | + 36.7% | 13 | 6,169 | 0.6% | + 36.4% | 13 | 13 |
| 11 | GM Korea | 1,202 | 0.9% | – 45.3% | 9 | 9,223 | 1.0% | – 41.1% | 9 | 9 |
| 12 | Volvo | 1,015 | 0.7% | – 28.1% | 11 | 7,782 | 0.8% | – 9.5% | 11 | 10 |
| 13 | Porsche | 1,014 | 0.7% | + 0.2% | 12 | 6,777 | 0.7% | + 48.1% | 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Toyota | 779 | 0.6% | – 7.9% | 14 | 5,279 | 0.5% | – 1.9% | 14 | 12 |
| 15 | Mini | 724 | 0.5% | + 26.1% | 15 | 4,142 | 0.4% | – 15.9% | 15 | 16 |
| 16 | Volkswagen | 601 | 0.4% | – 28.1% | 16 | 3,284 | 0.3% | – 11.5% | 16 | 15 |
| 17 | Land Rover | 393 | 0.3% | – 3.7% | 17 | 2,897 | 0.3% | + 21.0% | 18 | 17 |
| 18 | Ford | 296 | 0.2% | – 16.9% | 18 | 2,934 | 0.3% | + 29.0% | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | BYD | 292 | 0.2% | new | 21 | 1,578 | 0.2% | new | 20 | 30 |
| 20 | Polestar | 223 | 0.2% | + 471.8% | 19 | 1,609 | 0.2% | + 301.2% | 19 | 23 |
| 21 | Jeep | 219 | 0.2% | – 2.2% | 20 | 1,148 | 0.1% | – 30.9% | 22 | 19 |
| 22 | Honda | 143 | 0.1% | – 39.1% | 22 | 1,296 | 0.1% | – 12.2% | 21 | 20 |
| 23 | Lincoln | 122 | 0.1% | – 15.3% | 24 | 825 | 0.1% | – 44.6% | 23 | 21 |
| 24 | Peugeot | 78 | 0.1% | – 15.2% | 23 | 527 | 0.1% | – 20.5% | 24 | 22 |
| 25 | Cadillac | 62 | 0.0% | – 15.1% | 25 | 389 | 0.0% | – 5.1% | 25 | 24 |
| 26 | Lamborghini | 55 | 0.0% | + 3.8% | 26 | 263 | 0.0% | + 6.0% | 26 | 25 |
| 27 | Maserati | 28 | 0.0% | + 33.3% | 29 | 141 | 0.0% | – 19.9% | 30 | 28 |
| 28 | Bentley | 26 | 0.0% | – 25.7% | 28 | 142 | 0.0% | – 18.9% | 29 | 26 |
| 29 | Ferrari | 25 | 0.0% | n/a | 27 | 209 | 0.0% | n/a | 27 | 31 |
| 30 | GMC | 24 | 0.0% | – 25.0% | 31 | 143 | 0.0% | – 25.1% | 28 | 27 |
| 31 | Rolls-Royce | 15 | 0.0% | + 0.0% | 30 | 114 | 0.0% | + 3.6% | 31 | 29 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 111,018 | 80.4% | – 0.5% | – | 797,434 | 82.9% | + 2.0% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 27,081 | 19.6% | + 23.2% | – | 164,997 | 17.2% | + 11.8% | – | – |
South Korea July 2025 – domestic models:
| Pos | Model | Jul-25 | /24 | Jun | 2025 | /24 | Pos | FY24 |
| 1 | Kia Carnival | 7,211 | + 2.3% | 3 | 49,680 | – 4.3% | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Kia Sorento | 7,053 | – 7.1% | 1 | 58,182 | + 1.7% | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Hyundai Palisade | 6,238 | + 374.0% | 6 | 37,036 | + 214.1% | 6 | 22 |
| 4 | Hyundai Avante | 6,145 | + 54.6% | 2 | 45,755 | + 46.2% | 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Kia Sportage | 5,424 | – 13.0% | 4 | 43,517 | – 4.4% | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Kia Seltos | 4,921 | – 10.3% | 8 | 33,836 | – 2.5% | 8 | 7 |
| 7 | Hyundai Porter | 4,496 | – 13.2% | 10 | 32,875 | – 23.7% | 9 | 6 |
| 8 | Hyundai Grandeur | 4,408 | – 29.9% | 5 | 38,067 | – 4.0% | 5 | 5 |
| 9 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 4,252 | – 19.0% | 7 | 36,504 | – 18.9% | 7 | 3 |
| 10 | Hyundai Tucson | 4,011 | + 28.4% | 9 | 30,682 | + 8.9% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Kia Ray | 3,769 | – 14.0% | 11 | 29,038 | – 2.1% | 12 | 11 |
| 12 | Hyundai Staria | 3,632 | + 1.6% | 14 | 23,647 | – 0.6% | 15 | 14 |
| 13 | Kia Bongo | 3,520 | + 0.9% | 18 | 21,471 | – 18.0% | 16 | 15 |
| 14 | Hyundai Sonata | 3,314 | – 40.1% | 12 | 29,159 | + 5.1% | 11 | 8 |
| 15 | Renault Korea Grand Koleos | 3,029 | new | 13 | 26,139 | new | 13 | 21 |
| 16 | Kia K5 | 2,868 | + 6.1% | 19 | 20,299 | – 3.8% | 17 | 18 |
| 17 | Genesis G80 | 2,786 | – 11.4% | 15 | 24,987 | – 9.1% | 14 | 12 |
| 18 | Hyundai Kona | 2,592 | + 7.4% | 20 | 17,116 | + 2.5% | 21 | 20 |
| 19 | Genesis GV70 | 2,553 | – 33.5% | 16 | 19,677 | + 12.2% | 18 | 17 |
| 20 | Hyundai Bus/Truck | 2,204 | n/a | 23 | 10,189 | n/a | 23 | n/a |
| 21 | Kia EV3 | 2,199 | + 11.3% | 22 | 14,724 | + 645.5% | 22 | 28 |
| 22 | Genesis GV80 | 2,157 | – 24.0% | 17 | 18,654 | – 30.0% | 19 | 16 |
| 23 | Kia K8 | 2,090 | + 81.1% | 21 | 17,164 | + 25.9% | 20 | 19 |
| 24 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 1,510 | – 14.4% | 24 | 8,379 | – 5.8% | 25 | 26 |
| 25 | Kia EV4 | 1,485 | new | 29 | 4,762 | new | 33 | – |
| 26 | KGM Musso EV | 1,339 | new | 37 | 4,314 | new | 36 | – |
| 27 | Hyundai Venue | 1,272 | + 248.5% | 28 | 6,249 | + 132.7% | 29 | 39 |
| 28 | Kia Tasman | 1,271 | new | 25 | 5,265 | new | 31 | – |
| 29 | KGM Actyon | 1,249 | new | 43 | 3,113 | new | 38 | 37 |
| 30 | Hyundai Casper | 1,245 | – 63.6% | 26 | 8,836 | – 62.8% | 24 | 13 |
| 31 | Hyundai Ioniq 9 | 1,137 | new | 32 | 4,745 | new | 34 | – |
| 32 | Kia Niro | 1,035 | – 14.7% | 30 | 7,669 | – 20.5% | 26 | 25 |
| 33 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 1,001 | – 37.7% | 31 | 7,376 | – 37.6% | 28 | 23 |
| 34 | Hyundai Nexo | 1,001 | + 203.3% | 55 | 1,726 | – 3.7% | 43 | 41 |
| 35 | Kia EV6 | 936 | – 30.4% | 33 | 5,744 | – 13.6% | 30 | 31 |
| 36 | Kia Morning | 838 | – 37.2% | 27 | 7,425 | – 11.8% | 27 | 24 |
| 37 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 616 | + 124.0% | 34 | 3,570 | + 48.6% | 37 | 38 |
| 38 | Genesis G90 | 579 | – 2.5% | 35 | 4,511 | – 10.0% | 35 | 33 |
| 39 | KGM Torres | 511 | – 61.0% | 36 | 5,100 | – 48.0% | 32 | 27 |
| 40 | Renault Korea Arkana | 511 | – 24.9% | 38 | 2,799 | – 58.1% | 40 | 32 |
| 41 | KGM Tivoli | 446 | – 31.3% | 40 | 2,818 | – 31.4% | 39 | 35 |
| 42 | Renault Korea QM6 | 384 | – 48.0% | 42 | 2,678 | – 49.3% | 41 | 34 |
| 43 | KGM Musso Sports | 373 | new | 39 | 2,057 | new | 42 | – |
| 44 | KGM Musso Khan | 239 | new | 41 | 1,497 | new | 46 | – |
| 45 | Kia Bus/Special | 227 | n/a | 47 | 936 | n/a | 51 | |
| 46 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 190 | – 45.7% | 44 | 1,660 | – 39.7% | 44 | 40 |
| 47 | Kia EV9 | 173 | + 7.5% | 48 | 941 | – 32.1% | 50 | 45 |
| 48 | KGM Torres EVX | 162 | – 79.2% | 45 | 1,279 | – 72.6% | 47 | 36 |
| 49 | Hyundai ST1 | 127 | – 34.5% | 53 | 750 | + 90.8% | 52 | 49 |
| 50 | Kia K9 | 113 | – 44.1% | 50 | 974 | – 30.6% | 49 | 44 |
| 51 | KGM Rexton New Arena | 107 | – 45.1% | 49 | 745 | – 41.2% | 53 | 46 |
| 52 | Genesis GV60 | 81 | + 26.6% | 51 | 443 | + 16.9% | 54 | 51 |
| 53 | Genesis G70 | 71 | – 68.6% | 46 | 1,069 | – 24.8% | 48 | 42 |
| 54 | Renault Korea Master | 44 | + 120.0% | 56 | 186 | – 11.8% | 57 | 53 |
| 55 | Renault Korea SM6 | 32 | + 3.2% | 52 | 253 | – 51.3% | 56 | 50 |
| 56 | KGM Korando | 31 | – 70.8% | 54 | 328 | – 54.9% | 55 | 47 |
| 57 | Chevrolet Colorado | 8 | – 87.7% | 58 | 68 | – 50.7% | 58 | 52 |
| 58 | Chevrolet Traverse | 3 | – 97.2% | 59 | 53 | – 91.5% | 59 | 48 |
South Korea July 2025 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Jul-25 | /24 | Jun | 2025 | /24 | Pos | FY24 |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 6,559 | + 304.1% | 1 | 21,980 | + 88.4% | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | BMW 5 Series | 2,059 | + 25.2% | 3 | 14,017 | + 20.1% | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Mercedes E Class | 1,379 | – 8.4% | 2 | 14,933 | + 43.3% | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Mercedes GLC | 840 | + 34.2% | 4 | 5,100 | + 20.5% | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Tesla Model 3 | 798 | – 24.4% | 31 | 4,429 | – 45.2% | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | BMW 3 Series | 666 | + 51.4% | 6 | 3,492 | + 29.6% | 8 | 10 |
| 7 | BMW X3 | 545 | + 646.6% | 7 | 3,812 | + 29.7% | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | Mercedes S Class | 528 | + 46.3% | 16 | 2,669 | – 8.7% | 15 | 9 |
| 9 | Lexus ES | 460 | – 12.5% | 8 | 3,752 | – 6.2% | 7 | 6 |
| 10 | Lexus NX | 459 | + 17.1% | 10 | 2,783 | + 41.1% | 14 | 16 |
| 11 | BMW 7 Series | 454 | + 8.1% | 9 | 3,001 | + 28.4% | 11 | 15 |
| 12 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 430 | + 21.5% | 18 | 1,941 | + 3.9% | 22 | 22 |
| 13 | BMW X5 | 414 | – 38.7% | 14 | 3,440 | – 5.6% | 9 | 7 |
| 14 | BMW X7 | 369 | – 3.7% | 15 | 2,790 | + 17.4% | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | Mercedes GLE | 361 | – 21.2% | 5 | 3,423 | – 1.0% | 10 | 11 |
| 16 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 354 | + 31.6% | 19 | 2,059 | + 11.4% | 20 | 21 |
| 17 | Volvo XC60 | 346 | – 41.9% | 12 | 2,937 | – 14.3% | 12 | 8 |
| 18 | BMW X4 | 317 | + 6.4% | 17 | 2,131 | – 6.0% | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | VW ID.4 | 302 | – 14.9% | 26 | 1,443 | + 53.3% | 29 | 27 |
| 20 | Mercedes G Class | 271 | n/a | 24 | 2,087 | n/a | 19 | 26 |
| 21 | Volvo XC90 | 264 | + 62.0% | 43 | 880 | – 12.8% | 39 | 42 |
| 22 | Porsche Cayenne | 257 | – 37.3% | 11 | 2,524 | + 10.6% | 16 | 19 |
| 23 | Lexus RX | 257 | + 61.6% | 27 | 1,272 | + 20.7% | 32 | 36 |
| 24 | Mercedes CLE | 254 | – 42.7% | 20 | 2,057 | + 31.7% | 21 | 25 |
| 25 | BYD Atto 3 | 254 | n/a | 28 | 1,534 | new | 25 | – |
| 26 | Porsche Taycan | 245 | n/a | 45 | 1,142 | n/a | 35 | 47 |
| 27 | Porsche Panamera | 230 | – 35.6% | 47 | 1,475 | + 128.0% | 28 | 43 |
| 28 | Toyota RAV4 | 223 | – 5.5% | 23 | 1,174 | – 27.4% | 34 | 23 |
| 29 | BMW X6 | 215 | – 34.0% | 21 | 2,166 | + 13.5% | 17 | 20 |
| 30 | BMW X1 | 210 | + 61.5% | 30 | 1,484 | + 34.8% | 26 | 32 |
| 31 | Mercedes C Class | 208 | – 0.5% | 13 | 1,914 | – 35.6% | 23 | 18 |
| 32 | BMW 4 Series | 208 | + 74.8% | 29 | 1,289 | + 61.1% | 31 | 38 |
| 33 | Polestar 4 | 198 | new | 50 | 1,268 | new | 33 | n/a |
| 34 | BMW i5 | 174 | + 65.7% | 37 | 1,002 | – 9.6% | 36 | 51 |
| 35 | Porsche Macan | 170 | n/a | 33 | 801 | n/a | 42 | n/a |
| 36 | Toyota Alphard | 164 | + 65.7% | n/a | 841 | + 161.2% | 40 | n/a |
| 37 | Toyota Camry | 163 | + 8.7% | 34 | 1,353 | + 29.1% | 30 | 31 |
| 38 | VW Golf | 160 | + 77.8% | 41 | 387 | + 330.0% | 56 | 45 |
| 39 | Volvo XC40 | 145 | – 44.7% | 25 | 1,476 | + 6.2% | 27 | 28 |
| 40 | Ford Explorer | 137 | – 32.5% | 35 | 1,796 | + 94.6% | 24 | 40 |
| 41 | Range Rover Sport | 131 | + 67.9% | 39 | 794 | + 62.4% | 43 | n/a |
| 42 | Audi A5 | 130 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 110 | n/a |
| 43 | Jeep Wrangler | 129 | + 76.7% | 49 | 609 | – 3.3% | 47 | 46 |
| 44 | Audi A3 | 127 | #DIV/0! | 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 45 | Mini Countryman | 123 | – 21.2% | 48 | 981 | – 44.7% | 37 | 24 |
| 46 | Audi Q6 e-tron | 123 | n/a | n/a | 209 | new | 63 | – |
| 47 | Mini Electric | 116 | new | 36 | 301 | new | 62 | n/a |
| 48 | Range Rover | 110 | – 33.7% | 40 | 600 | – 33.6% | 48 | 39 |
| 49 | Toyota Prius | 104 | – 37.7% | n/a | 361 | – 31.6% | 57 | n/a |
| 50 | Audi Q5 | 102 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 59 |
Source: KAIDA, manufacturers
