South Korea March 2026: BYD breaks records again, Renault Filante in Top 10

The Renault Filante is up to #9 for its first full month in market.

Excellent result for new light vehicle sales in South Korea with March volumes up 10.2% year-on-year to 164,393 units. This includes 130,529 local manufacturers (+5.3%) and 33,964 foreigners (+34.6%). Over Q1, the market is up 5.2% to 407,713 including 325,608 locals (-0.4%) and 82,105 foreigners (+35.4%). For the third straight month, Kia (+12.7%) outsells sister brand Hyundai (-2.1%) with 34.3% share vs. 31.3%. Kia commands 34.7% of its home market YTD vs. 32.6% for Hyundai. Tesla (+329.6%) repeats at #3 and breaks its volume (11,130) and share (6.8%) records, previous bests having been established just last month. Genesis (-1.4%) is back from the brink and surpasses 10,000 units for the first time since last November. BYD (+16540%) celebrates one year in market with a record 9th place.

Looking at domestic models, the Kia Sorento (+7%) snaps the top spot for the 16th time in the past 19 months and sees its YTD sales back in positive at +1%. The Hyundai Grandeur (+21.9%) climbs up to #2 both for the month and YTD, followed by the Hyundai Porter (+5.3%) and Sonata (+26.1%) both down one spot on last month. The Kia Seltos (-6.9%) is back up 19 ranks on February to #8. But the surprise of the month is to be found below: the all new Renault Korea Filante is up 46 spots on last month to end March inside the Top 10 at #9. For reference, the brand’s previous success, the Grand Koleos (-75.5%), now cannibalised, peaked at #5 in November 2024. The Kia EV5 (#16), PV5 (#17) and EV4 (#27) are the next best-selling recent launches.

As for foreign models, Tesla manages a 1-2 for the first time with the Model Y (+3691.6%) in first place and the Model 3 (+57.9%) at #2. Note the Model Y would rank #3 in the overall charts when including domestic models. The Mercedes E Class (-24.1%) and BMW 5 Series (-7.2%) struggle below and each drop one rank on February to #3 and #4. The new BYD Sealion 7 cracks the Top 5 for the 2nd time after September 2025. The Polestar 4 (+122.8%) soars to #7 while the BYD Dolphin breaks into the Top 10 at #9 for what is its first appearance inside the Top 50.

Previous month: South Korea February 2026: Tesla breaks records, Kia PV5 up to #4

One year ago: South Korea March 2025: Hyundai and Kia Sorento #1, BYD and Kia Tasman land

Full March 2026 Top 30 All brands, Top 58 All local models and Top 50 foreigners below.