Hybrid Cars Rapidly Accelerate in This Year's Imported Car Market... Japanese Cars Also Showing Recovery

Hybrid Imported Cars Market Share from January to September: 10.4% Last Year → 25.6% This Year
Sales Increase of Hybrid Leading Japanese Car Brands

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The market share of hybrid cars, which had accounted for only half of diesel vehicles in the imported car market, is rapidly rising. As hybrid cars gain popularity, sales of Japanese cars are also gradually recovering.

According to the Korea Imported Car Association on the 9th, last month, 5,569 imported hybrid vehicles were sold, accounting for 27.3% of total sales, while diesel cars accounted for only 12.8%, with 2,608 units sold.

This is the exact opposite of the situation during the same period last year, when hybrid cars and diesel cars accounted for 14.1% and 29.4%, respectively. Plug-in hybrid vehicles, which accounted for only 2.5% of imported car sales in September last year, expanded their market share to 10.8% with 2,204 units sold last month.

It is interpreted that as demand for eco-friendly vehicles has exploded, diesel cars have relatively decreased, while sales of hybrid vehicles, one of the eco-friendly car types, have increased.

Not only last month but also throughout this year, the market share of hybrid cars continues to increase. From January to September last year, the market share of imported hybrid cars was 10.4% in the imported car market, but this year it rose to 25.6%.

While European brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are expanding hybrid car sales domestically this year, sales of Japanese car brands, traditionally strong in hybrid cars, are also gradually recovering.

The Lexus ES300h sold 4,890 units from January to September this year, ranking 4th among best-selling cars and becoming the best-selling hybrid vehicle. Thanks to this, Lexus's cumulative sales during the same period increased by 35.2% year-on-year to 6,828 units.

Lexus plans to return to the 10,000-unit club within this year, having launched a new model of the representative hybrid car, the Lexus ES300h, in the remaining period of this year.

Honda, which launched hybrid models of the SUV CR-V and sedan Accord earlier this year, exceeded 500 units in sales for both August and September.

This was also the highest monthly sales in 20 months since December 2019 (1,045 units). The cumulative sales from January to September this year were 3,045 units, up 47.3% compared to the same period last year.

An industry official said, "Demand for eco-friendly cars is a global trend, so as sales of internal combustion engine vehicles such as diesel decline, demand for hybrid cars is expected to increase further," adding, "Imported car companies are preparing to launch new hybrid models domestically next year as well."