South Korea September 2025: Market up 20.8%, Tesla breaks record, Kia EV5 lands
The Kia EV5 has finally landed at home.
Exceptional month for new light vehicle sales in South Korea: they are up 20.8% year-on-year in September to 157,522 units. This includes 124,692 domestic vehicles (+18.1%) and 32,830 foreigners (+32.2%). Year-to-date volumes are up 5.1% to 1,258,361 including 1,033,235 domestic (+3.1%) and 225,126 foreigners (+15.6%). Hyundai soars 25% to 35.8% share with sister brand Kia up an even more impressive 28.6% to 31.2% of the market. Genesis (-10.3%) brakes at #3 just as Tesla shoots up 572.3% to over 9,000 sales, a new record. Audi (+43.3%) also impresses at #9 while newcomer BYD is up to five spots on August to #13 with 0.6% share.
Looking at domestic models, the Kia Sorento (+35.5%) reclaims the top spot it holds year-to-date, passing the Hyundai Avante (+104.8%). The Kia Carnival (+37.9%) and Sportage (+41.3%) camp on their August positions while the Hyundai Santa Fe (+8.4%) is back up 7 ranks on last month to #5. No other Top 10 member beats the market, with the Hyundai Grandeur (-11.8%) and Sonata (-2.1%) hit the hardest. The Hyundai Palisade is up 138.8% year-on-year but down five spots on August to #11. The new Hyundai Ioniq 9 is up to a record #28 and we finally welcome the Kia EV5 at #47, months after its global launch.
As for foreign models, the Tesla Model Y (+954.4%) is up 10-fold year-on-year to reach a new all time high monthly volume at almost 8,500 units. Like last month, it ranks #2 in the general models ranking when including domestic fares. The Mercedes E Class (-33.8%) falls heavily but ranks #2 ahead of the BMW 5 Series (+9.9%) and Mercedes GLC (-9.5%). The BYD Sealion 7 storms into 5th place with over 800 sales, a new record for a Chinese model in South Korea.
Previous month: South Korea August 2025: Hyundai Avante and Tesla Model Y on top, Kia PV5 lands
One year ago: South Korea September 2024: Renault Grand Koleos up to #12
Full September 2025 Top 31 All brands, Top 61 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.
South Korea September 2025 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Sep-25 | % | /24 | Aug | 2025 | % | /24 | Pos | FY24 |
| 1 | Hyundai | 56,463 | 35.8% | + 25.0% | 1 | 447,268 | 35.5% | + 7.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 49,201 | 31.2% | + 28.6% | 2 | 415,108 | 33.0% | + 1.9% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Genesis | 9,538 | 6.1% | – 10.3% | 3 | 88,190 | 7.0% | – 13.8% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Tesla | 9,069 | 5.8% | + 572.3% | 4 | 43,612 | 3.5% | + 84.7% | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | Mercedes | 6,904 | 4.4% | – 17.6% | 6 | 48,283 | 3.8% | + 0.5% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | BMW | 6,610 | 4.2% | – 6.7% | 5 | 57,838 | 4.6% | + 6.2% | 4 | 4 |
| 7 | Renault Korea | 4,182 | 2.7% | – 16.5% | 8 | 40,115 | 3.2% | + 110.7% | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | KG Mobility | 4,100 | 2.6% | – 9.6% | 7 | 30,942 | 2.5% | – 15.7% | 8 | 6 |
| 9 | Audi | 1,426 | 0.9% | + 43.3% | 10 | 8,858 | 0.7% | + 35.7% | 12 | 13 |
| 10 | Lexus | 1,417 | 0.9% | + 8.0% | 11 | 11,629 | 0.9% | + 14.1% | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Volvo | 1,399 | 0.9% | + 9.1% | 9 | 10,494 | 0.8% | – 5.7% | 11 | 10 |
| 12 | GM Korea | 1,208 | 0.8% | – 38.3% | 12 | 11,612 | 0.9% | – 39.6% | 10 | 9 |
| 13 | BYD | 1,020 | 0.6% | new | 18 | 2,967 | 0.2% | new | 19 | 30 |
| 14 | Toyota | 912 | 0.6% | + 17.2% | 13 | 7,074 | 0.6% | + 0.2% | 14 | 12 |
| 15 | Porsche | 803 | 0.5% | + 11.4% | 14 | 8,345 | 0.7% | + 38.1% | 13 | 14 |
| 16 | Mini | 798 | 0.5% | + 86.4% | 15 | 5,605 | 0.4% | – 2.2% | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | Land Rover | 722 | 0.5% | + 61.9% | 16 | 4,065 | 0.3% | + 25.6% | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | Polestar | 361 | 0.2% | + 8925.0% | 20 | 2,227 | 0.2% | + 443.2% | 20 | 23 |
| 19 | Ford | 351 | 0.2% | + 23.2% | 19 | 3,639 | 0.3% | + 23.3% | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | Jeep | 227 | 0.1% | + 17.0% | 21 | 1,496 | 0.1% | – 26.5% | 21 | 19 |
| 21 | Volkswagen | 211 | 0.1% | – 72.2% | 17 | 3,905 | 0.3% | – 34.0% | 17 | 15 |
| 22 | Peugeot | 116 | 0.1% | + 190.0% | 23 | 715 | 0.1% | – 4.9% | 24 | 22 |
| 23 | Cadillac | 97 | 0.1% | + 79.6% | 25 | 543 | 0.0% | + 3.4% | 25 | 24 |
| 24 | Lincoln | 91 | 0.1% | – 52.8% | 24 | 974 | 0.1% | – 46.5% | 23 | 21 |
| 25 | Bentley | 82 | 0.1% | + 95.2% | 30 | 247 | 0.0% | – 3.9% | 28 | 26 |
| 26 | Honda | 77 | 0.0% | – 65.5% | 22 | 1,484 | 0.1% | – 24.7% | 22 | 20 |
| 27 | Lamborghini | 42 | 0.0% | + 13.5% | 28 | 329 | 0.0% | + 1.9% | 26 | 25 |
| 28 | Ferrari | 35 | 0.0% | n/a | 26 | 273 | 0.0% | n/a | 27 | 31 |
| 29 | Maserati | 31 | 0.0% | + 93.8% | 27 | 198 | 0.0% | – 2.5% | 29 | 28 |
| 30 | GMC | 18 | 0.0% | – 30.8% | 29 | 185 | 0.0% | – 24.2% | 30 | 27 |
| 31 | Rolls-Royce | 11 | 0.0% | – 8.3% | 31 | 141 | 0.0% | + 4.4% | 31 | 29 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 124,692 | 79.2% | + 18.1% | – | 1,033,235 | 82.1% | + 3.1% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 32,830 | 20.8% | + 32.2% | – | 225,126 | 17.9% | + 15.6% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 157,522 | 100.0% | + 20.8% | – | 1,258,361 | 100.0% | + 5.1% | – | – |
South Korea September 2025 – domestic models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-25 | /24 | Aug | 2025 | /24 | Pos | FY24 |
| 1 | Kia Sorento | 8,978 | + 35.5% | 2 | 73,691 | + 9.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Hyundai Avante | 7,675 | + 104.8% | 1 | 61,085 | + 56.7% | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Kia Carnival | 6,758 | + 37.9% | 3 | 62,469 | + 0.2% | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Kia Sportage | 6,416 | + 41.3% | 4 | 55,688 | – 0.7% | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 5,763 | + 8.4% | 12 | 45,570 | – 18.7% | 7 | 3 |
| 6 | Hyundai Grandeur | 5,398 | – 11.8% | 7 | 48,604 | – 6.5% | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Hyundai Porter | 5,325 | + 19.5% | 5 | 43,747 | – 17.0% | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | Hyundai Tucson | 5,130 | + 12.7% | 9 | 39,685 | + 8.1% | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | Kia Seltos | 4,965 | + 12.0% | 8 | 43,039 | – 3.7% | 9 | 7 |
| 10 | Hyundai Sonata | 4,787 | – 2.1% | 10 | 37,473 | – 3.8% | 11 | 8 |
| 11 | Hyundai Palisade | 4,070 | + 138.8% | 6 | 46,338 | + 208.4% | 6 | 22 |
| 12 | Kia Ray | 4,003 | + 19.0% | 11 | 36,525 | – 0.6% | 12 | 11 |
| 13 | Hyundai Kona | 3,586 | + 34.8% | 16 | 23,715 | + 10.4% | 20 | 20 |
| 14 | Genesis G80 | 3,354 | – 14.0% | 19 | 31,167 | – 10.6% | 14 | 12 |
| 15 | Kia Bongo | 3,228 | + 24.8% | 15 | 27,867 | – 12.3% | 16 | 15 |
| 16 | Kia K5 | 3,127 | + 37.3% | 14 | 26,664 | + 2.3% | 17 | 18 |
| 17 | Hyundai Staria | 3,101 | – 2.9% | 13 | 29,994 | + 0.2% | 15 | 14 |
| 18 | Renault Korea Grand Koleos | 3,019 | – 22.6% | 18 | 32,061 | + 712.7% | 13 | 21 |
| 19 | Genesis GV70 | 2,791 | – 16.5% | 17 | 25,451 | + 2.8% | 18 | 17 |
| 20 | Hyundai Bus/Truck | 2,735 | + 101.4% | 22 | 15,126 | n/a | 23 | n/a |
| 21 | Genesis GV80 | 2,564 | – 1.8% | 20 | 23,853 | – 24.1% | 19 | 16 |
| 22 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 2,269 | + 93.6% | 25 | 12,310 | + 9.1% | 24 | 26 |
| 23 | Kia K8 | 2,159 | – 54.3% | 24 | 21,299 | + 1.1% | 21 | 19 |
| 24 | Hyundai Casper | 2,144 | – 46.4% | 26 | 12,227 | – 62.7% | 25 | 13 |
| 25 | Kia EV3 | 1,927 | – 4.7% | 21 | 18,968 | + 137.1% | 22 | 28 |
| 26 | Kia Morning | 1,805 | + 86.5% | 23 | 11,310 | + 9.8% | 26 | 24 |
| 27 | Kia EV6 | 1,322 | + 308.0% | 29 | 8,146 | + 7.6% | 29 | 31 |
| 28 | Hyundai Ioniq 9 | 1,272 | new | 34 | 6,943 | new | 32 | – |
| 29 | Hyundai Nexo | 1,239 | + 362.3% | 27 | 4,168 | + 73.1% | 39 | 41 |
| 30 | Kia EV4 | 1,151 | new | 28 | 7,037 | new | 31 | – |
| 31 | KGM Actyon | 1,057 | – 37.3% | 32 | 5,210 | + 111.3% | 37 | 37 |
| 32 | Kia Niro | 1,048 | + 20.0% | 30 | 9,779 | – 16.2% | 27 | 25 |
| 33 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 1,012 | – 29.9% | 33 | 9,381 | – 34.9% | 28 | 23 |
| 34 | Hyundai Venue | 1,002 | + 143.8% | 36 | 8,064 | + 137.5% | 30 | 39 |
| 35 | KGM Musso EV | 957 | new | 31 | 6,311 | new | 34 | – |
| 36 | Kia Tasman | 777 | new | 35 | 6,929 | new | 33 | – |
| 37 | Kia PV5 | 672 | new | 51 | 833 | new | 54 | – |
| 38 | KGM Torres | 663 | + 4.9% | 42 | 6,145 | – 45.9% | 35 | 27 |
| 39 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 657 | + 78.5% | 45 | 4,457 | + 40.3% | 38 | 38 |
| 40 | Genesis G90 | 575 | + 4.4% | 37 | 5,663 | – 7.1% | 36 | 33 |
| 41 | Renault Korea Arkana | 530 | – 8.5% | 39 | 3,780 | – 51.7% | 41 | 32 |
| 42 | KGM Tivoli | 501 | – 2.7% | 38 | 3,788 | – 27.1% | 40 | 35 |
| 43 | Renault Korea QM6 | 426 | – 9.0% | 41 | 3,488 | – 45.6% | 42 | 34 |
| 44 | KGM Musso Sports | 387 | new | 40 | 2,889 | new | 43 | – |
| 45 | Kia Bus/Special | 337 | + 258.5% | 43 | 1,561 | n/a | 47 | – |
| 46 | Hyundai ST1 | 310 | + 203.9% | 47 | 1,261 | + 86.0% | 50 | 49 |
| 47 | Kia EV5 | 272 | new | – | 272 | new | 59 | – |
| 48 | KGM Musso Khan | 240 | new | 46 | 1,963 | new | 45 | – |
| 49 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 190 | – 41.4% | 49 | 2,035 | – 39.1% | 44 | 40 |
| 50 | Genesis G70 | 173 | – 14.4% | 48 | 1,441 | – 22.2% | 49 | 42 |
| 51 | KGM Torres EVX | 160 | – 44.3% | 44 | 1,692 | – 68.3% | 46 | 36 |
| 52 | Kia EV9 | 147 | + 20.5% | 53 | 1,200 | – 25.0% | 52 | 45 |
| 53 | Renault Korea Master | 131 | + 336.7% | 57 | 351 | + 34.5% | 57 | 53 |
| 54 | Kia K9 | 109 | – 33.1% | 52 | 1,226 | – 29.7% | 51 | 44 |
| 55 | KGM Rexton New Arena | 102 | – 25.5% | 50 | 1,015 | – 35.4% | 53 | 46 |
| 56 | Genesis GV60 | 81 | + 138.2% | 54 | 615 | + 37.9% | 55 | 51 |
| 57 | Renault Korea Scenic E-Tech | 50 | new | 56 | 98 | new | 60 | – |
| 58 | KGM Korando | 33 | – 34.0% | 58 | 393 | – 54.2% | 56 | 47 |
| 59 | Renault Korea SM6 | 26 | – 21.2% | 55 | 337 | – 42.6% | 58 | 50 |
| 60 | Chevrolet Colorado | 4 | – 94.1% | 59 | 75 | – 74.2% | 61 | 52 |
| 61 | Chevrolet Traverse | 2 | – 97.6% | – | 55 | – 93.1% | 62 | 48 |
South Korea September 2025 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-25 | /24 | Aug | 2025 | /24 | Pos | FY24 |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 8,361 | + 954.4% | 1 | 37,024 | + 170.8% | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Mercedes E Class | 3,273 | – 33.8% | 3 | 19,899 | + 13.1% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | BMW 5 Series | 2,196 | + 9.9% | 2 | 18,206 | + 23.1% | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Mercedes GLC | 900 | – 9.5% | 5 | 6,653 | + 10.1% | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | BYD Sealion 7 | 825 | new | n/a | 828 | new | 46 | – |
| 6 | Tesla Model 3 | 708 | + 32.6% | 4 | 6,428 | – 32.6% | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | Mercedes GLE | 692 | + 40.4% | 13 | 4,557 | + 3.7% | 10 | 11 |
| 8 | Volvo XC60 | 620 | + 17.4% | 6 | 4,120 | – 7.9% | 11 | 8 |
| 9 | Lexus ES | 614 | + 1.8% | 11 | 4,861 | – 6.3% | 7 | 6 |
| 10 | BMW X5 | 606 | + 20.7% | 7 | 4,599 | + 1.2% | 8 | 7 |
| 11 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 582 | + 72.2% | 12 | 2,967 | + 17.8% | 17 | 22 |
| 12 | BMW X3 | 577 | – 9.8% | 10 | 4,894 | + 16.4% | 6 | 12 |
| 13 | BMW 3 Series | 556 | – 10.6% | 8 | 4,573 | + 16.2% | 9 | 10 |
| 14 | Mercedes S Class | 492 | – 27.6% | 14 | 3,513 | – 12.0% | 13 | 9 |
| 15 | BMW 7 Series | 393 | – 5.8% | 9 | 3,918 | + 28.6% | 12 | 15 |
| 16 | Polestar 4 | 361 | new | 22 | 1,881 | new | 28 | n/a |
| 17 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 356 | + 108.2% | 15 | 2,749 | + 27.7% | 20 | 21 |
| 18 | BMW X7 | 338 | – 17.2% | 17 | 3,449 | + 13.2% | 14 | 14 |
| 19 | Lexus NX | 324 | – 25.2% | 16 | 3,433 | + 22.8% | 15 | 16 |
| 20 | Audi Q6 e-tron | 314 | new | 20 | 813 | new | 47 | – |
| 21 | BMW X6 | 308 | – 15.8% | 19 | 2,776 | + 11.5% | 18 | 20 |
| 22 | BMW X4 | 305 | – 13.8% | 18 | 2,752 | – 6.3% | 19 | 17 |
| 23 | Porsche Cayenne | 293 | + 4.6% | 25 | 3,038 | + 10.4% | 16 | 19 |
| 24 | Volvo XC40 | 290 | – 2.7% | 32 | 1,932 | + 1.9% | 26 | 28 |
| 25 | Lexus RX | 282 | + 88.0% | 21 | 1,809 | + 34.7% | 29 | 36 |
| 26 | Mercedes CLE | 279 | + 12.5% | 35 | 2,494 | + 9.4% | 21 | 25 |
| 27 | Ford Explorer | 246 | + 100.0% | 27 | 2,247 | + 77.1% | 23 | 40 |
| 28 | Mercedes G Class | 223 | + 44.8% | 37 | 2,467 | + 99.8% | 22 | 26 |
| 29 | BMW X1 | 216 | + 10.8% | 23 | 1,934 | + 39.0% | 25 | 32 |
| 30 | Mercedes GLS | 216 | – 7.3% | 39 | 1,127 | – 8.0% | 41 | 44 |
| 31 | Toyota Camry | 213 | + 60.2% | 36 | 1,724 | + 28.1% | 30 | 31 |
| 32 | Toyota RAV4 | 207 | – 13.0% | 33 | 1,546 | – 27.0% | 33 | 23 |
| 33 | Range Rover Sport | 204 | + 284.9% | 38 | 1,147 | + 89.6% | 38 | n/a |
| 34 | Volvo XC90 | 198 | + 102.0% | 28 | 1,281 | + 3.3% | 36 | 42 |
| 35 | Range Rover | 197 | + 3.7% | 40 | 934 | – 25.4% | 44 | 39 |
| 36 | BMW 4 Series | 176 | – 2.8% | 26 | 1,681 | + 40.7% | 32 | 38 |
| 37 | Porsche Macan | 175 | n/a | 31 | 1,143 | + 498.4% | 39 | n/a |
| 38 | Toyota Alphard | 160 | + 95.1% | 42 | 1,135 | + 137.4% | 40 | n/a |
| 39 | Mercedes C Class | 159 | + 30.3% | 30 | 2,240 | – 32.0% | 24 | 18 |
| 40 | Land Rover Defender | 151 | + 38.5% | n/a | 586 | – 28.3% | n/a | 53 |
| 41 | Mini Electric | 151 | new | 48 | 561 | new | n/a | n/a |
| 42 | BYD Atto 3 | 145 | new | 24 | 1,909 | new | 27 | – |
| 43 | Mini Countryman | 138 | – 40.8% | n/a | 1,211 | – 43.9% | 37 | 24 |
| 44 | Porsche Taycan | 135 | – 18.7% | 34 | 1,437 | + 132.9% | 35 | 47 |
| 45 | Porsche Panamera | 121 | – 9.0% | 45 | 1,717 | + 71.7% | 31 | 43 |
| 46 | BMW iX | 121 | new | 46 | 435 | new | n/a | n/a |
| 47 | Audi Q5 | 109 | + 581.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 59 |
| 48 | BMW X2 | 107 | + 84.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 49 | Toyota Prius | 105 | + 45.8% | 47 | 584 | – 16.2% | n/a | n/a |
| 50 | Audi A5 | 101 | n/a | 50 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Source: KAMA, KAIDA
