South Korea May 2026: Tesla Model Y first foreign model to top charts outright
The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea in May.
New car sales in South Korea stumble -10.2% year-on-year in May to just 126,955 units. However it would have been worse without the help of foreign manufacturers, up 5.9% to 23.5% share whereas domestics ones drop -14.3% to 76.5% of their home market. Year-to-date, the market is now up just 1% to 686,008 units including 540,054 domestic manufacturers (-5.1%) and 145,954 foreigners (+32.3%).
Kia (-0.9%) celebrates 5 consecutive months at #1 with 35.2% share, confirming its newfound dominance over sister brand Hyundai (-20.7%) at only 30.9%. Kia now has a whopping 22,105-unit advantage over Hyundai year-to-date. Tesla (+65.4%) continues to stun, selling over 10,000 units for the third month in a row. BMW (+2.3%) passes a freefalling Genesis (-35.3%) for fourth place. Audi (+47.7%) and Lexus (+13.8%) defy the negative market with splendid YoY gains. BYD (+101.2%) slides outside the Top 10 at #12 but still doubles its sales year-on-year.
Looking at domestic models, the Kia Sorento (+1.3%) delivers an 8th win in the past 9 months, outselling the Hyundai Grandeur (+12.7%) like last month. The Kia Sportage (-10.1%) matches the market and is back up three spots on last month to #3, whereas the Kia Carnival (-31.7%) and Hyundai Avante (-29.7%) both implode. Excellent performance by the Kia EV3 (+61.9%), lodging a 4th straight Top 10 finish. The new Renault Korea Filante seems to have already peaked, down 9 ranks on last month to #31.
As for foreign nameplates, the Tesla Model Y (+40.5%) delivers a historic result: at 8,762 sales it is simply #1 in the overall market including domestic models. It is simply the first time we have ever seen a foreign model top the South Korean charts. Ever (at least since Korean manufacturers were born). The BMW 5 Series (-1.5%) is back above the Tesla Model 3 (+294.2%) with the Mercedes E Class (-45.3%) and BMW X3 (+33.9%) rounding out the Top 5. At #6, the new BYD Sealion 7 manages a 9th straight Top 10 finish.
Previous month: South Korea April 2026: Tesla and BYD break records
One year ago: South Korea May 2025: Hyundai Palisade breaks records in stable market
Full May 2026 Top 30 All brands, Top 55 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.
South Korea May 2026 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | May-26 | % | /25 | Apr | 2026 | % | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Kia | 44,727 | 35.2% | – 0.9% | 1 | 241,498 | 35.2% | + 4.6% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Hyundai | 39,203 | 30.9% | – 20.7% | 2 | 219,393 | 32.0% | – 9.4% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Tesla | 10,866 | 8.6% | + 65.4% | 3 | 45,020 | 6.6% | + 250.8% | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | BMW | 6,555 | 5.2% | + 2.3% | 5 | 32,581 | 4.7% | + 2.7% | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Genesis | 6,161 | 4.9% | – 35.3% | 4 | 39,088 | 5.7% | – 22.8% | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | Mercedes | 3,553 | 2.8% | – 44.6% | 6 | 24,211 | 3.5% | – 8.8% | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | KGM | 3,318 | 2.6% | – 6.8% | 8 | 18,170 | 2.6% | + 18.8% | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Renault Korea | 2,893 | 2.3% | – 31.2% | 7 | 17,787 | 2.6% | – 22.8% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Audi | 1,509 | 1.2% | + 47.7% | 12 | 5,565 | 0.8% | + 43.9% | 12 | 12 |
| 10 | Lexus | 1,291 | 1.0% | + 13.8% | 11 | 6,125 | 0.9% | – 3.8% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Volvo | 1,058 | 0.8% | – 6.3% | 10 | 5,791 | 0.8% | + 1.6% | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | BYD | 1,032 | 0.8% | + 101.2% | 9 | 7,023 | 1.0% | + 558.8% | 9 | 16 |
| 13 | Porsche | 820 | 0.6% | – 31.2% | 16 | 3,606 | 0.5% | – 23.4% | 15 | 13 |
| 14 | Toyota | 804 | 0.6% | + 10.9% | 13 | 3,786 | 0.6% | + 2.6% | 14 | 14 |
| 15 | GM Korea | 793 | 0.6% | – 42.9% | 14 | 4,118 | 0.6% | – 39.1% | 13 | 11 |
| 16 | Mini | 604 | 0.5% | + 2.4% | 15 | 3,255 | 0.5% | + 23.2% | 16 | 15 |
| 17 | Volkswagen | 451 | 0.4% | – 15.4% | 18 | 2,202 | 0.3% | + 12.0% | 17 | 18 |
| 18 | Land Rover | 424 | 0.3% | + 14.6% | 19 | 2,034 | 0.3% | + 1.8% | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Polestar | 350 | 0.3% | – 23.1% | 17 | 1,979 | 0.3% | + 75.9% | 19 | 20 |
| 20 | Lincoln | 85 | 0.1% | – 12.4% | 20 | 263 | 0.0% | – 56.8% | 24 | 23 |
| 21 | Honda | 75 | 0.1% | – 48.3% | 24 | 352 | 0.1% | – 65.2% | 22 | 22 |
| 22 | Lamborghini | 71 | 0.1% | + 129.0% | 27 | 151 | 0.0% | – 4.4% | 28 | 26 |
| 23 | GMC | 52 | 0.0% | + 108.0% | 22 | 410 | 0.1% | + 283.2% | 21 | 30 |
| 24 | Jeep | 52 | 0.0% | – 60.0% | 21 | 475 | 0.1% | – 29.8% | 20 | 21 |
| 25 | Cadillac | 51 | 0.0% | – 47.4% | 23 | 266 | 0.0% | + 1.1% | 23 | 25 |
| 26 | Peugeot | 51 | 0.0% | – 50.5% | 28 | 263 | 0.0% | – 25.7% | 25 | 24 |
| 27 | Ford | 41 | 0.0% | – 89.8% | 25 | 261 | 0.0% | – 88.7% | 26 | 19 |
| 28 | Bentley | 30 | 0.0% | – 6.3% | 26 | 169 | 0.0% | + 83.7% | 27 | 27 |
| 29 | Ferrari | 20 | 0.0% | – 28.6% | 29 | 95 | 0.0% | – 39.9% | 29 | 28 |
| 30 | Rolls-Royce | 15 | 0.0% | – 28.6% | 30 | 71 | 0.0% | – 17.4% | 30 | 31 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 97,095 | 76.5% | – 14.3% | – | 540,054 | 78.7% | – 5.1% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 29,860 | 23.5% | + 5.9% | – | 145,954 | 21.3% | + 32.3% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 126,955 | 100.0% | – 10.2% | – | 686,008 | 100.0% | + 1.0% | – | – |
South Korea May 2026 – domestic models:
| Pos | Model | May-26 | /25 | Apr | 2026 | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Kia Sorento | 7,836 | + 1.3% | 1 | 46,865 | + 8.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Hyundai Grandeur | 5,183 | + 12.7% | 2 | 28,328 | + 0.9% | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Kia Sportage | 4,760 | – 10.1% | 6 | 25,087 | – 20.9% | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Kia Carnival | 4,543 | – 31.7% | 5 | 23,935 | – 33.1% | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | Hyundai Avante | 4,526 | – 29.7% | 4 | 24,352 | – 24.2% | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | Hyundai Sonata | 4,118 | – 0.4% | 3 | 25,237 | + 16.7% | 3 | 11 |
| 7 | Kia Ray | 3,419 | – 14.5% | 7 | 20,221 | – 3.8% | 8 | 12 |
| 8 | Hyundai Porter | 3,375 | – 25.0% | 8 | 22,127 | – 7.9% | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | Kia Seltos | 3,169 | – 25.6% | 12 | 16,860 | – 29.2% | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | Kia EV3 | 3,021 | + 61.9% | 10 | 15,593 | + 46.5% | 12 | 22 |
| 11 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 2,862 | – 42.4% | 9 | 16,443 | – 38.7% | 11 | 7 |
| 12 | Kia Bongo | 2,644 | + 0.6% | 14 | 13,884 | – 7.8% | 16 | 17 |
| 13 | Kia EV5 | 2,581 | new | 15 | 12,773 | new | 17 | 49 |
| 14 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 2,575 | + 105.2% | 25 | 10,200 | + 89.6% | 22 | 26 |
| 15 | Kia PV5 | 2,303 | new | 21 | 12,651 | new | 18 | 45 |
| 16 | Kia K5 | 2,237 | – 26.1% | 20 | 12,597 | – 13.5% | 19 | 16 |
| 17 | Kia Morning | 2,234 | + 46.3% | 16 | 10,076 | + 87.2% | 23 | 25 |
| 18 | Genesis G80 | 2,220 | – 40.2% | 19 | 13,984 | – 25.0% | 15 | 13 |
| 19 | Hyundai Bus/Truck | 2,216 | + 54.7% | 26 | 8,157 | + 26.5% | 27 | 23 |
| 20 | Hyundai Tucson | 2,183 | – 46.6% | 11 | 17,197 | – 22.6% | 9 | 10 |
| 21 | Hyundai Kona | 2,095 | + 9.0% | 18 | 14,797 | + 24.5% | 14 | 19 |
| 22 | Hyundai Staria | 1,912 | – 41.7% | 17 | 11,857 | – 26.9% | 20 | 15 |
| 23 | Hyundai Palisade | 1,825 | – 76.2% | 13 | 15,456 | – 39.0% | 13 | 6 |
| 24 | Genesis GV70 | 1,798 | – 26.2% | 23 | 11,639 | – 17.6% | 21 | 18 |
| 25 | Kia K8 | 1,752 | – 33.3% | 28 | 8,984 | – 29.0% | 25 | 21 |
| 26 | Genesis GV80 | 1,547 | – 34.3% | 24 | 9,853 | – 27.2% | 24 | 20 |
| 27 | Hyundai Casper | 1,536 | + 123.6% | 32 | 6,781 | + 6.2% | 29 | 24 |
| 28 | Hyundai Ioniq 9 | 1,482 | + 70.9% | 31 | 5,921 | + 108.4% | 33 | 33 |
| 29 | Kia Niro | 1,355 | + 3.4% | 30 | 6,581 | + 17.0% | 32 | 27 |
| 30 | Renault Korea Grand Koleos | 1,248 | – 62.1% | 27 | 7,206 | – 62.1% | 28 | 14 |
| 31 | Renault Korea Filante | 1,201 | new | 22 | 8,300 | new | 26 | – |
| 32 | Kia EV4 | 1,196 | – 12.9% | 29 | 6,707 | + 204.3% | 30 | 34 |
| 33 | KGM Musso | 1,137 | + 180.7% | 33 | 6,642 | + 430.1% | 31 | 44 |
| 34 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 1,049 | + 39.1% | 39 | 4,202 | + 84.3% | 36 | 42 |
| 35 | Kia EV6 | 905 | – 5.4% | 34 | 4,477 | + 9.7% | 34 | 30 |
| 36 | Hyundai Venue | 903 | – 22.0% | 35 | 4,455 | + 14.5% | 35 | 28 |
| 37 | KGM Musso EV | 755 | – 35.3% | 36 | 3,718 | + 54.1% | 37 | 37 |
| 38 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 648 | – 42.2% | 37 | 3,364 | – 37.4% | 38 | 29 |
| 39 | KGM Tivoli | 548 | + 21.2% | 41 | 2,322 | + 16.5% | 42 | 41 |
| 40 | KGM Actyon | 468 | + 136.4% | 38 | 2,807 | + 75.5% | 39 | 35 |
| 41 | Renault Korea Arkana | 444 | – 3.7% | 44 | 1,923 | + 6.8% | 43 | 40 |
| 42 | Genesis G90 | 405 | – 45.0% | 42 | 2,447 | – 25.0% | 40 | 36 |
| 43 | Hyundai Nexo | 338 | + 1436.4% | 40 | 2,356 | + 249.0% | 41 | 39 |
| 44 | Kia EV9 | 263 | + 47.8% | 43 | 1,160 | + 77.1% | 46 | 53 |
| 45 | Kia Tasman | 250 | – 81.5% | 46 | 1,656 | – 38.5% | 45 | 32 |
| 46 | KGM Torres | 183 | – 76.0% | 45 | 1,757 | – 55.3% | 44 | 31 |
| 47 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 143 | – 44.4% | 48 | 735 | – 40.0% | 48 | 48 |
| 48 | Kia K9 | 141 | + 29.4% | 50 | 595 | – 22.6% | 50 | 54 |
| 49 | Hyundai ST1 | 130 | + 14.0% | 49 | 632 | + 15.8% | 49 | 55 |
| 50 | Genesis GV60 | 129 | + 16.2% | 51 | 451 | + 59.9% | 54 | 58 |
| 51 | KGM Rexton New Arena | 128 | + 36.2% | 52 | 463 | – 12.1% | 52 | 57 |
| 52 | Kia Bus/Special | 118 | + 3.5% | 47 | 796 | + 34.0% | 47 | 46 |
| 53 | KGM Torres EVX | 99 | + 10.0% | 53 | 459 | – 47.8% | 53 | 52 |
| 54 | Genesis G70 | 52 | – 69.2% | 54 | 557 | – 29.7% | 51 | 50 |
| 55 | Genesis GV60 Magma | 10 | new | 55 | 41 | new | 56 | – |
South Korea May 2026 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | May-26 | /25 | Apr | 2026 | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 8,762 | + 40.5% | 1 | 34,171 | + 269.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | BMW 5 Series | 2,060 | – 1.5% | 3 | 9,571 | – 1.4% | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 | 1,301 | + 294.2% | 2 | 8,447 | + 146.9% | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Mercedes E Class | 1,285 | – 45.3% | 4 | 9,815 | – 10.4% | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | BMW X3 | 743 | + 33.9% | 6 | 3,408 | + 25.2% | 6 | 8 |
| 6 | BYD Sealion 7 | 655 | new | 9 | 3,360 | new | 7 | 25 |
| 7 | Audi A6 | 615 | + 168.6% | n/a | 681 | – 29.1% | 41 | 50 |
| 8 | Lexus ES | 572 | + 35.9% | 20 | 2,127 | – 24.7% | 13 | 7 |
| 9 | Mercedes GLC | 560 | – 37.5% | 10 | 3,470 | + 6.8% | 5 | 4 |
| 10 | BMW X5 | 542 | – 8.3% | 11 | 2,942 | + 10.7% | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | BMW 3 Series | 534 | + 5.3% | 12 | 2,770 | + 23.0% | 10 | 9 |
| 12 | Tesla Model X | 508 | + 25300.0% | 14 | 1,619 | + 20137.5% | 18 | n/a |
| 13 | Mercedes GLE | 433 | – 37.8% | 8 | 3,046 | + 24.0% | 8 | 6 |
| 14 | Lexus NX | 419 | + 4.0% | 18 | 2,263 | + 17.3% | 11 | 18 |
| 15 | BMW 7 Series | 373 | – 9.5% | 13 | 2,248 | + 4.7% | 12 | 13 |
| 16 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 361 | + 19.1% | 17 | 1,347 | + 15.7% | 25 | 23 |
| 17 | BMW X7 | 355 | – 7.8% | 15 | 1,936 | – 5.7% | 16 | 14 |
| 18 | Polestar 4 | 350 | + 19.9% | 7 | 1,977 | + 107.7% | 15 | 26 |
| 19 | Volvo XC60 | 336 | – 30.3% | 19 | 2,080 | – 6.2% | 14 | 11 |
| 20 | Audi Q5 | 332 | n/a | 26 | 1,364 | n/a | 23 | n/a |
| 21 | Volvo EX30 | 317 | + 112.8% | 42 | 685 | – 15.1% | 40 | 47 |
| 22 | Mercedes G Class | 301 | – 37.4% | 24 | 1,017 | – 35.3% | 28 | 21 |
| 23 | Porsche Cayenne | 286 | – 48.3% | 28 | 908 | – 52.0% | 33 | 17 |
| 24 | BMW X6 | 282 | – 8.4% | 27 | 1,383 | – 16.7% | 21 | 19 |
| 25 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 267 | – 12.5% | 22 | 1,604 | + 17.1% | 19 | 15 |
| 26 | BMW i5 | 234 | + 68.3% | 21 | 1,381 | + 109.2% | 22 | 36 |
| 27 | Mercedes CLE | 211 | – 35.9% | 23 | 1,356 | – 9.1% | 24 | 20 |
| 28 | VW ID.4 | 209 | + 93.5% | 32 | 1,002 | + 9.0% | 30 | 43 |
| 29 | Mercedes S Class | 204 | – 44.7% | 25 | 1,547 | – 13.1% | 20 | 12 |
| 30 | Lexus RX | 200 | + 20.5% | 30 | 1,026 | + 28.6% | 27 | 33 |
| 31 | Porsche Macan EV | 197 | + 19.4% | 48 | 0 | – 100.0% | n/a | 41 |
| 32 | Toyota Alphard | 181 | + 60.2% | 36 | 725 | + 29.2% | 36 | 42 |
| 33 | Toyota Camry | 180 | + 21.6% | 29 | 1,013 | + 0.1% | 29 | 31 |
| 34 | BMW X1 | 176 | – 0.6% | 33 | 903 | – 15.1% | 35 | 28 |
| 35 | Tesla Model S | 170 | + 16900.0% | n/a | 611 | + 3115.8% | 44 | n/a |
| 36 | Toyota Crown | 161 | + 75.0% | 47 | 562 | + 97.2% | 47 | n/a |
| 37 | BYD Dolphin | 150 | new | 5 | 1,677 | new | 17 | – |
| 38 | Toyota Prius | 144 | + 45.5% | 40 | 554 | + 65.9% | 48 | n/a |
| 39 | VW Golf | 136 | + 70.0% | 37 | 628 | + 271.6% | 43 | n/a |
| 40 | BMW iX1 | 134 | + 211.6% | 44 | 0 | – 100.0% | n/a | n/a |
| 41 | Volvo XC90 | 134 | + 61.4% | 34 | 907 | + 91.4% | 34 | 38 |
| 42 | BMW X4 | 130 | – 56.4% | 35 | 976 | – 32.9% | 32 | 16 |
| 43 | BMW 4 Series | 128 | – 31.2% | 38 | 724 | – 16.5% | 37 | 32 |
| 44 | BYD Seal | 128 | new | 31 | 702 | new | 38 | n/a |
| 45 | Land Rover Defender | 128 | n/a | n/a | 570 | + 64.3% | 45 | 49 |
| 46 | Mercedes GLS | 128 | – 3.8% | n/a | 314 | – 53.3% | n/a | 37 |
| 47 | Porsche Taycan | 125 | + 0.8% | 39 | 999 | + 31.4% | 31 | 35 |
| 48 | Tesla Cybertruck | 125 | new | n/a | 130 | new | n/a | n/a |
| 49 | Mini Countryman | 122 | + 8.9% | 41 | 0 | – 100.0% | n/a | 40 |
| 50 | Mercedes EQB | 120 | + 1900.0% | 46 | 569 | + 1164.4% | 46 | n/a |
Source: KAIDA
This Post Has One Comment
Still excellent position of domestic brands. If I compare it with Germany, there have domestic brands only about 50% of the market.