The Kia Sportage is the best-selling vehicle at home for the first time since November 2021. The South Korean new car market is up by a sturdy 7.9% year-on-year in October to 136,776 units. This is split between 105,659 local brands (+2.9%) and 31,117 foreigners (+29.3%). The year-to-date however remains…
The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea for the third month in a row. 14/10 update: Now with Top 50 foreign models ranking. The South Korean new light vehicle market continues to perform poorly in September at -14.5% year-on-year to 134,717 units. This is solely due…
The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea for the 2nd straight month. New light vehicle sales in South Korea sink -20.8% year-on-year in August to 109,556 units. This despite foreign manufacturers up 9.2% to 29,817 whereas local carmakers drop -28.2% to 79,739. The year-to-date tally tilts…
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…
The BYD Dolphin is the 2nd best-selling foreign model in South Korea in June. The South Korean new light vehicle market is up by a robust 9.5% year-on-year in June to 159,348 units. This is divided into 121,289 units (+3%) for local carmakers and 38,059 (+37%) for foreigners. The H1…
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%…
The Tesla Model Y sells over 10,000 units in April. The South Korean new light vehicle market edges up 0.8% year-on-year in April to 151,340 units, however this small gain has everything to do with foreign brands up 58.1% to 33,989 and 22.5% share whereas domestic brands fall -8.8% to…
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%…
The Kia PV5 is up to a record 4th place in South Korea in February. 13/03 update: Now with Top 50 best-selling foreign models. The South Korean new vehicle market is down a harsh -7.3% year-on-year in February to 122,874 units. Indeed if foreign manufacturers are euphoric at +34.6% to…
The Kia Sorento confirms it is the favourite of South Korean customers. The South Korean new light vehicle market is up 13.5% year-on-year in January to 120,446 units. This includes 99,495 domestic manufacturers (+9.5%) and 20,951 foreigners (+37.6%). This month Kia (+12.3%) topples traditional leader Hyundai (+11.6%) to rank #1…
The Kia Sorento is #1 at home for the second year in a row. Discover over 35 years of South Korean Historical Data here. 1,675,692 new light vehicles hit South Korean roads in 2025, a 3.3% year-on-year improvement. This includes 1,368,561 local vehicles (+0.7%) and 307,131 foreigners (+16.7%). Hyundai (+3.5%)…
BYD is now among South Korea's Top 10 brands. 12/12 update: Now with Top 50 foreign models. The South Korean new car market edges down -1.1% year-on-year in November to 145,936 units. Local carmakers pull the market down at -5.8% to 116,588 whereas foreigners jump +23.4% to 29,348. Year-to-date figures…
Tesla sales are up 3-fold in South Korea. After surging 20.8% last month, the South Korea new light vehicle market is back to earth in October at a painful -12.9% YoY to 126,747 units. This is entirely the fault of domestic models off -17.3% to 102,685 and 81% share just…
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…
The Kia PV5 has landed in its home charts. The South Korean new light vehicle market edges up 1% year-on-year in August to 138,408 units, that includes 111,109 for domestic manufacturers (-3.2%) and 27,299 for foreigners (+22.6%). The year-to-date tally is now up 3.2% to 1,100,839 including 908,543 locals (+1.3%)…