Tesla, backed by its lower-priced Model Y and Model 3 produced in China, topped Korea's imported car market for a second consecutive month with more than 10,000 units sold. The Model Y became the first single imported electric vehicle model to surpass 10,000 monthly sales in the country.
Tesla registered 13,190 vehicles last month to take the top spot, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on Wednesday. It has led the market for three straight months since February, and has topped 10,000 units in sales for two consecutive months starting in March, when it registered 11,130 vehicles. With 34,154 units sold through April, Tesla surpassed BMW and Mercedes-Benz to claim the No. 1 position in Korea's imported car market.
Imported electric vehicles totaled 18,319 units last month, driven by Tesla's surge, pushing the EV market share above half at 53.9%. Tesla's share of imported passenger EVs jumped to 72% from 38.9% in April last year.
The Model Y led Tesla's growth, with 10,086 units sold last month, the first time a single imported EV model surpassed 10,000 monthly sales. The Model 3 ranked second among imported car models with 2,596 units sold.
The Model Y and Model 3 are produced at Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory in China and imported into Korea. The Shanghai Gigafactory serves as a production base that manufactures approximately 850,000 EVs annually for export to Europe and Asia. Tesla uses the Shanghai plant as its production hub for lower-priced EVs.
This year, Tesla has cut the starting price of the Model Y Premium rear-wheel drive by 3 million won to 49.99 million won from 52.99 million won to expand its domestic market share. The company is also pursuing an aggressive pricing strategy by providing 1.7 million won in subsidies directly to customers in regions where government subsidies have been exhausted.
