South Korea July 2026: Tesla Model Y outsells Hyundai Grandeur to #1, Kia Seltos up to record #2
The Kia Seltos climbs to #2 for the first time in the nameplate’s history.
In July, the South Korean new light vehicle market edges up 0.6% year-on-year to 138,895 units. This is solely due to foreign manufacturers up 14.4% to 30,976 whereas locals are actually down -2.8% to 107,919. Same situation year-to-date, with a tally up 2.3% to 984,251 including 769,262 locals (-3.5%) and 214,989 foreigners (+30.3%). Kia (+21.3%) delivers a 7th consecutive monthly win at 39.4% share vs. 35.7% year-to-date. The gap with Hyundai (-11.1%) is over 12,000 units for the month, a new record. Tesla (+39.1%) stays at a brilliant third place with 7.4% share, well above BMW (+0.7%). Local premium brand Genesis (-34%) implodes and needs fresh metal real soon. BYD (+874.7%) repeats at #7 but drops from a record 2.9% share last month to 2% now.
The Kia Ray is up to a record 6th place.
The Hyundai Grandeur (+93.6%) repeats at #1 but stays #2 in the year-to-date order, 15,000 units below the Kia Sorento (-12.8%), even though the latter is down to #4 for the month. In fact the Grandeur is the only Hyundai in the Top 6. The Kia Seltos (+50.9%) reaches a record 2nd place, only one month after notching its first podium ranking in its 84 months in market. The Carnival (-4.1%) follows at #3, the Sportage (-0.8%) at #5 and the Ray (+37.4%) at #6, a new ranking record for the nameplate. The Hyundai Sonata (+38.3%) and Kia EV3 (+57.7%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 10, while the new Kia EV5 hits a record #11. Sudden surge for the Kia Morning (+306.7%) up 4-fold to #12.
The Tesla Model Y is the overall best seller in South Korea in July.
Looking at the foreign models, we realise that the Tesla Model Y (+32.7%) is the overall best-seller (including local models) for the second time in the past three months after last May. It outsells the Hyundai Grandeur by 173 units. The BMW 5 Series (-6.8%) is back up one spot on June to #2 while the Tesla Model 3 (+91.9%) almost doubles its year-ago volume and gains 19 ranks to #3, the nameplate’s 4th podium ranking in the past five months. The Mercedes E Class (+3.3%) stays at #4, followed by two new BYDs: the Dolphin down three spots to #5 and the Sealion 7 repeating at #6. The Toyota RAV4 (+169.1%) finally sees the effects of its new generation at #9.
Previous month: South Korea June 2026: BYD smashes records
One year ago: South Korea July 2025: Kia Carnival topples Sorento to #1, Hyundai Palisade #3
Full July 2026 Top 30 All brands, Top 55 All local models and Top 50 foreign models below.
South Korea July 2026 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Jul-26 | % | /25 | Jun | 2026 | % | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Kia | 54,735 | 39.4% | + 21.3% | 1 | 351,214 | 35.7% | + 9.0% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Hyundai | 42,683 | 30.7% | – 11.1% | 2 | 312,372 | 31.7% | – 8.6% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Tesla | 10,237 | 7.4% | + 39.1% | 3 | 66,376 | 6.7% | + 149.8% | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | BMW | 6,533 | 4.7% | + 0.7% | 5 | 45,683 | 4.6% | + 2.0% | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Genesis | 5,430 | 3.9% | – 34.0% | 4 | 52,454 | 5.3% | – 24.4% | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | Mercedes | 3,959 | 2.9% | – 11.5% | 6 | 33,735 | 3.4% | – 8.9% | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | BYD | 2,846 | 2.0% | + 874.7% | 7 | 14,521 | 1.5% | + 820.2% | 9 | 16 |
| 8 | KGM | 2,610 | 1.9% | – 41.4% | 8 | 24,417 | 2.5% | + 7.2% | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | Renault Korea | 1,704 | 1.2% | – 57.4% | 9 | 22,891 | 2.3% | – 28.6% | 8 | 7 |
| 10 | Lexus | 1,474 | 1.1% | + 7.7% | 11 | 9,293 | 0.9% | + 3.7% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Toyota | 1,340 | 1.0% | + 72.0% | 13 | 6,527 | 0.7% | + 23.6% | 13 | 14 |
| 12 | Volvo | 958 | 0.7% | – 5.6% | 12 | 8,428 | 0.9% | + 8.3% | 11 | 9 |
| 13 | Audi | 935 | 0.7% | – 25.7% | 10 | 8,272 | 0.8% | + 34.1% | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | GM Korea | 757 | 0.5% | – 37.0% | 14 | 5,914 | 0.6% | – 35.9% | 14 | 11 |
| 15 | Porsche | 635 | 0.5% | – 37.4% | 16 | 4,957 | 0.5% | – 26.9% | 15 | 13 |
| 16 | Mini | 632 | 0.5% | – 12.7% | 15 | 4,723 | 0.5% | + 14.0% | 16 | 15 |
| 17 | Volkswagen | 471 | 0.3% | – 21.6% | 17 | 3,275 | 0.3% | – 0.3% | 17 | 18 |
| 18 | Land Rover | 308 | 0.2% | – 21.6% | 19 | 2,768 | 0.3% | – 4.5% | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Polestar | 248 | 0.2% | + 11.2% | 18 | 2,660 | 0.3% | + 65.3% | 19 | 20 |
| 20 | Jeep | 73 | 0.1% | – 66.7% | 21 | 620 | 0.1% | – 46.0% | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Lamborghini | 61 | 0.0% | + 10.9% | 24 | 276 | 0.0% | + 4.9% | 27 | 26 |
| 22 | Cadillac | 42 | 0.0% | – 32.3% | 27 | 360 | 0.0% | – 7.5% | 26 | 25 |
| 23 | GMC | 41 | 0.0% | + 70.8% | 22 | 518 | 0.1% | + 262.2% | 21 | 30 |
| 24 | Lincoln | 39 | 0.0% | – 68.0% | 25 | 361 | 0.0% | – 56.2% | 25 | 23 |
| 25 | Bentley | 36 | 0.0% | + 38.5% | 26 | 263 | 0.0% | + 85.2% | 28 | 27 |
| 26 | Peugeot | 35 | 0.0% | – 55.1% | 23 | 363 | 0.0% | – 31.1% | 24 | 24 |
| 27 | Ford | 32 | 0.0% | – 89.2% | 20 | 367 | 0.0% | – 87.5% | 23 | 19 |
| 28 | Ferrari | 18 | 0.0% | – 28.0% | 29 | 133 | 0.0% | – 36.4% | 29 | 28 |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce | 12 | 0.0% | – 20.0% | 30 | 98 | 0.0% | – 14.0% | 30 | 31 |
| 30 | Honda | 11 | 0.0% | – 92.3% | 28 | 410 | 0.0% | – 68.4% | 22 | 22 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 107,919 | 77.7% | – 2.8% | – | 769,262 | 78.2% | – 3.5% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 30,976 | 22.3% | + 14.4% | – | 214,989 | 21.8% | + 30.3% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 138,895 | 100.0% | + 0.6% | – | 984,251 | 100.0% | + 2.3% | – | – |
South Korea July 2026 – local models:
| Pos | Model | Jul-26 | /25 | Jun | 2026 | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Hyundai Grandeur | 8,532 | + 93.6% | 1 | 46,922 | + 23.3% | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Kia Seltos | 7,427 | + 50.9% | 3 | 30,972 | – 8.5% | 7 | 9 |
| 3 | Kia Carnival | 6,917 | – 4.1% | 4 | 37,119 | – 25.3% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Kia Sorento | 6,153 | – 12.8% | 2 | 61,579 | + 5.8% | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Kia Sportage | 5,381 | – 0.8% | 5 | 36,644 | – 15.8% | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Kia Ray | 5,178 | + 37.4% | 9 | 29,558 | + 1.8% | 9 | 12 |
| 7 | Hyundai Sonata | 4,584 | + 38.3% | 6 | 34,923 | + 19.8% | 5 | 11 |
| 8 | Hyundai Porter | 4,280 | – 4.8% | 11 | 30,235 | – 8.0% | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 3,822 | – 10.1% | 10 | 24,333 | – 33.3% | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | Kia EV3 | 3,467 | + 57.7% | 18 | 21,898 | + 48.7% | 12 | 22 |
| 11 | Kia EV5 | 3,434 | new | 13 | 19,399 | new | 15 | 49 |
| 12 | Kia Morning | 3,408 | + 306.7% | 24 | 15,403 | + 107.4% | 22 | 25 |
| 13 | Hyundai Staria | 2,904 | – 20.0% | 16 | 17,796 | – 24.7% | 19 | 15 |
| 14 | Kia Bongo | 2,846 | – 19.1% | 19 | 19,261 | – 10.3% | 16 | 17 |
| 15 | Hyundai Kona | 2,756 | + 6.3% | 15 | 20,630 | + 20.5% | 14 | 19 |
| 16 | Hyundai Palisade | 2,624 | – 57.9% | 8 | 22,291 | – 39.8% | 11 | 6 |
| 17 | Hyundai Avante | 2,545 | – 58.6% | 7 | 31,213 | – 31.8% | 6 | 2 |
| 18 | Kia PV5 | 2,472 | new | 22 | 17,472 | new | 20 | 45 |
| 19 | Kia K5 | 2,362 | – 17.6% | 14 | 18,109 | – 10.8% | 18 | 16 |
| 20 | Hyundai Bus/Truck | 2,304 | + 4.5% | 21 | 12,836 | + 26.0% | 25 | 23 |
| 21 | Genesis G80 | 1,933 | – 30.6% | 17 | 18,861 | – 24.5% | 17 | 13 |
| 22 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 1,833 | + 21.4% | 27 | 13,727 | + 63.8% | 23 | 26 |
| 23 | Genesis GV70 | 1,700 | – 33.4% | 20 | 15,767 | – 19.9% | 21 | 18 |
| 24 | Hyundai Tucson | 1,376 | – 65.7% | 12 | 21,858 | – 28.8% | 13 | 10 |
| 25 | Genesis GV80 | 1,317 | – 38.9% | 26 | 13,010 | – 30.3% | 24 | 20 |
| 26 | Hyundai Casper | 1,307 | + 5.0% | 28 | 9,573 | + 8.3% | 29 | 24 |
| 27 | Kia Niro | 1,307 | + 26.3% | 25 | 9,768 | + 27.4% | 28 | 27 |
| 28 | Kia K8 | 1,259 | – 39.8% | 23 | 12,224 | – 28.8% | 26 | 21 |
| 29 | Hyundai Ioniq 9 | 1,215 | + 6.9% | 31 | 8,454 | + 78.2% | 33 | 33 |
| 30 | Kia EV6 | 1,070 | + 14.3% | 36 | 6,367 | + 10.8% | 35 | 30 |
| 31 | Hyundai Nexo | 960 | – 4.1% | 43 | 3,775 | + 118.7% | 39 | 39 |
| 32 | Hyundai Venue | 953 | – 25.1% | 33 | 6,531 | + 4.5% | 34 | 28 |
| 33 | Kia EV4 | 849 | – 42.8% | 34 | 8,575 | + 80.1% | 32 | 34 |
| 34 | Renault Korea Grand Koleos | 728 | – 76.0% | 32 | 9,247 | – 64.6% | 30 | 14 |
| 35 | KGM Musso EV | 615 | – 54.1% | 41 | 4,911 | + 13.8% | 37 | 37 |
| 36 | KGM Musso | 612 | + 64.1% | 29 | 8,587 | + 317.5% | 31 | 44 |
| 37 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 591 | – 4.1% | 37 | 5,566 | + 55.9% | 36 | 42 |
| 38 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 584 | – 41.7% | 35 | 4,790 | – 35.1% | 38 | 29 |
| 39 | Renault Korea Filante | 537 | new | 30 | 10,161 | new | 27 | – |
| 40 | KGM Tivoli | 480 | + 7.6% | 45 | 3,174 | + 12.6% | 41 | 41 |
| 41 | Kia EV9 | 442 | + 155.5% | 44 | 1,994 | + 111.9% | 47 | 53 |
| 42 | Kia Tasman | 442 | – 65.2% | 47 | 2,418 | – 54.1% | 45 | 32 |
| 43 | Renault Korea Arkana | 439 | – 14.1% | 38 | 3,125 | + 11.6% | 42 | 40 |
| 44 | KGM Torres | 393 | – 23.1% | 39 | 2,774 | – 45.6% | 44 | 31 |
| 45 | KGM Actyon | 383 | – 69.3% | 42 | 3,718 | + 19.4% | 40 | 35 |
| 46 | Genesis G90 | 279 | – 51.8% | 46 | 3,087 | – 31.6% | 43 | 36 |
| 47 | Kia Bus/Special | 264 | + 16.3% | 40 | 2,283 | + 143.9% | 46 | 46 |
| 48 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 173 | – 8.9% | 49 | 1,082 | – 34.8% | 48 | 48 |
| 49 | Genesis GV60 | 115 | + 42.0% | 51 | 691 | + 56.0% | 52 | 58 |
| 50 | KGM Torres EVX | 98 | – 39.5% | 53 | 648 | – 49.3% | 53 | 52 |
| 51 | Hyundai ST1 | 97 | – 23.6% | 54 | 814 | + 8.5% | 50 | 55 |
| 52 | Genesis G70 | 71 | + 0.0% | 48 | 856 | – 19.9% | 49 | 50 |
| 53 | Kia K9 | 57 | – 49.6% | 50 | 791 | – 18.8% | 51 | 54 |
| 54 | KGM Rexton New Arena | 29 | – 72.9% | 52 | 603 | – 19.1% | 54 | 57 |
| 55 | Genesis GV60 Magma | 15 | new | 55 | 66 | new | 56 | – |
South Korea July 2026 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Jul-26 | /25 | Jun | 2026 | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 8,705 | + 32.7% | 1 | 52,064 | + 136.9% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | BMW 5 Series | 1,919 | – 6.8% | 3 | 13,756 | – 1.9% | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 | 1,531 | + 91.9% | 22 | 10,392 | + 134.6% | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Mercedes E Class | 1,425 | + 3.3% | 4 | 13,354 | – 10.6% | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | BYD Dolphin | 1,264 | new | 2 | 5,775 | new | 5 | – |
| 6 | BYD Sealion 7 | 1,060 | new | 6 | 5,537 | new | 6 | 25 |
| 7 | Mercedes GLC | 658 | – 21.7% | 5 | 5,349 | + 4.9% | 7 | 4 |
| 8 | BMW X3 | 629 | + 15.4% | 11 | 4,656 | + 22.1% | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Toyota RAV4 | 600 | + 169.1% | 8 | 1,593 | + 31.1% | 28 | 30 |
| 10 | BMW X5 | 586 | + 41.5% | 15 | 4,023 | + 16.9% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Mercedes GLE | 508 | + 40.7% | 9 | 4,188 | + 22.3% | 9 | 6 |
| 12 | Lexus NX | 501 | + 9.2% | 13 | 3,294 | + 18.4% | 12 | 18 |
| 13 | BMW 3 Series | 457 | – 31.4% | 17 | 3,675 | + 5.2% | 11 | 9 |
| 14 | Volvo XC60 | 448 | + 29.5% | 25 | 2,894 | – 1.5% | 15 | 11 |
| 15 | BMW 7 Series | 443 | – 2.4% | 21 | 3,118 | + 3.9% | 13 | 13 |
| 16 | Lexus ES | 409 | – 11.1% | 12 | 3,081 | – 17.9% | 14 | 7 |
| 17 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 342 | – 3.4% | 24 | 2,335 | + 13.4% | 18 | 15 |
| 18 | BYD Atto 3 | 333 | + 31.1% | 14 | 2,114 | + 37.8% | 19 | 22 |
| 19 | Audi A6 | 309 | n/a | 16 | 1,446 | + 50.6% | 30 | 51 |
| 20 | Mercedes G Class | 297 | + 9.6% | 26 | 1,641 | – 21.4% | 26 | 21 |
| 21 | BMW X7 | 293 | – 20.6% | 28 | 2,534 | – 9.2% | 17 | 14 |
| 22 | Lexus RX | 293 | + 14.0% | 31 | 1,607 | + 26.3% | 27 | 33 |
| 23 | BMW i5 | 266 | + 52.9% | 29 | 1,947 | + 94.3% | 23 | 36 |
| 24 | Polestar 4 | 248 | + 25.3% | 19 | 2,658 | + 109.6% | 16 | 26 |
| 25 | BMW iX3 | 247 | n/a | 81 | 306 | new | 88 | 69 |
| 26 | BMW X6 | 241 | + 12.1% | 34 | 1,845 | – 14.8% | 24 | 19 |
| 27 | Toyota Camry | 237 | + 45.4% | 35 | 1,464 | + 8.2% | 29 | 31 |
| 28 | Mercedes CLE | 235 | – 7.5% | 33 | 1,833 | – 10.9% | 25 | 20 |
| 29 | Porsche Cayenne | 227 | – 11.7% | 43 | 1,293 | – 48.8% | 34 | 17 |
| 30 | Mercedes C Class | 167 | – 19.7% | 36 | 765 | – 60.0% | 51 | 27 |
| 31 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 164 | – 61.9% | 18 | 1,949 | + 0.4% | 21 | 23 |
| 32 | Toyota Alphard | 160 | – 2.4% | 40 | 1,071 | + 27.3% | 38 | 42 |
| 33 | VW Golf | 160 | + 0.0% | 38 | 986 | + 107.1% | 44 | 54 |
| 34 | Mercedes GLS | 159 | + 69.1% | 46 | 682 | – 20.8% | 58 | 37 |
| 35 | Audi Q5 | 156 | + 52.9% | 20 | 1,947 | n/a | 22 | 70 |
| 36 | BMW 4 Series | 153 | – 26.4% | 45 | 1,031 | – 20.0% | 41 | 32 |
| 37 | VW ID.4 | 146 | – 51.7% | 32 | 1,397 | – 3.2% | 31 | 43 |
| 38 | Volvo S90 | 144 | + 58.2% | 53 | 1,029 | + 43.5% | 42 | 39 |
| 39 | Volvo XC90 | 143 | – 45.8% | 57 | 1,161 | + 31.9% | 36 | 38 |
| 40 | Mercedes S Class | 142 | – 73.1% | 30 | 1,981 | – 25.8% | 20 | 12 |
| 41 | BMW iX | 141 | + 6950.0% | 56 | 793 | + 310.9% | 48 | 94 |
| 42 | BMW X1 | 141 | – 32.9% | 41 | 1,220 | – 17.8% | 35 | 28 |
| 43 | Lexus UX | 141 | + 53.3% | 42 | 657 | + 102.8% | 60 | 60 |
| 44 | BMW iX1 | 140 | + 185.7% | 68 | 619 | + 119.5% | 62 | 86 |
| 45 | Porsche Taycan | 134 | – 45.3% | 39 | 1,329 | + 16.4% | 33 | 35 |
| 46 | BYD Seal | 132 | + 247.4% | 37 | 1,038 | + 2259.1% | 40 | 108 |
| 47 | Porsche Panamera | 124 | – 46.1% | 48 | 893 | – 39.5% | 45 | 34 |
| 48 | Range Rover Sport | 124 | – 5.3% | 47 | 815 | + 2.6% | 46 | 45 |
| 49 | Toyota Crown | 120 | + 36.4% | 64 | 778 | + 108.6% | 49 | 65 |
| 50 | VW ID.5 | 118 | + 49.4% | 95 | 154 | – 75.5% | 112 | 68 |
Source: KAMA, KAIDA
