Three out of every 10 imported cars sold in Korea in the first half of this year were Teslas, data showed. Tesla recorded nearly triple the sales of a year earlier, dominating the Korean imported car market.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on Thursday, new registrations of imported passenger cars from January to June totaled 184,032 units, up 33.2% from 138,120 units in the same period last year. Tesla took the top spot in sales with 56,139 units, accounting for 30.5% of the total. BMW ranked second with 39,150 units (21.3%), and Mercedes-Benz came third with 29,776 units (16.2%).
In the same period last year, Tesla was a distant third with 19,212 units sold, far behind BMW (35,130 units) and Mercedes-Benz (30,011 units). This year, however, Tesla is overwhelming the sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz on the strength of its price-competitive Chinese-made Model Y. Tesla sales surged 192.2%, while BMW and Mercedes-Benz saw their market shares fall by more than 5 percentage points.
The industry expects Tesla's market share to grow as the year progresses. Tesla showed strong momentum, with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units in March and April, even after passing through January and February when a gap in electric vehicle subsidies emerged. If this trend continues, Tesla's domestic sales this year will surpass 100,000 units. The premium trim of the Tesla Model Y recorded sales of 31,767 units, making it the best-selling imported car in the first half.
BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle maker that first entered Korea last year, set a record by rising to fourth place in imported car sales with 11,675 units (6.3%) in the first half. It was followed by Lexus with 7,819 units (4.3%), Volvo with 7,470 units (4.1%), Audi with 7,337 units (4.0%), Toyota with 5,187 units (2.8%), Porsche with 4,322 units (2.4%), and Mini with 4,091 units (2.2%).
