Electric vehicles accounted for more than half of imported passenger cars in Korea for the first time in April, with Tesla and BYD both posting their highest monthly sales on record.
New registrations of imported electric passenger vehicles reached 18,319 units last month, representing 53.9% of the total 33,993 imported passenger cars registered, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said Wednesday.
Tesla led the market with 13,190 units. The U.S. electric carmaker became the first import brand to surpass 10,000 units in a single month in March, when it sold 11,134 vehicles. BYD, which entered the Korean market in April last year, registered 2,023 units last month, crossing the 2,000-unit threshold for the first time.
Tesla's Model Y sold 10,086 units, becoming the first imported single model to exceed 10,000 monthly sales. The Model 3 ranked second among all imported models with 2,596 units sold. BYD's Dolphin came in fifth with 800 units, while the Sealion 7 placed eighth with 621 units.
"April's new registrations of imported passenger cars showed mixed results across brands, but strong EV sales and new model effects at some brands helped maintain levels similar to the previous month," said Chung Yun-young, vice chairman of KAIDA.
