Domestic is 'RV', imported is 'Sedan'

'The 2022 Sorento' released by Kia. (Photo by Kia)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Domestic consumers prefer leisure vehicles (RVs) for domestic finished cars and passenger models called 'sedans' for imported cars. The trend of RVs has been influenced by the popularity of car camping and camping. In the case of foreign cars, the industry analyzes that luxury vehicles have a strong image of sedans, leading to higher purchases of these vehicles.

According to the monthly automobile statistics report by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) and the sales performance of five domestic finished car companies on the 25th, the top domestic sales ranking in the first quarter of this year was Kia's sports utility vehicle (SUV) Sorento, which sold 15,277 units. The second place was the Genesis G80 with 14,123 units, and the third place was Kia's SUV Sportage with 13,155 units.

In particular, RVs swept the top 1 to 10 in domestic car sales this year. Six models including Sorento, Sportage, Palisade, Carnival, Seltos, and Casper ranked high in sales. As a result, the share of RVs in total sales (308,298 units) in the first quarter exceeded half at 51.7% (159,379 units). This is an increase of 5.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

The trend of RVs was greatly influenced by COVID-19. Due to COVID-19, camping and car camping, which can be enjoyed non-face-to-face rather than face-to-face, became popular. The industry analyzes that this led to a preference for RV vehicles over smaller sedans.

On the other hand, imported cars have not yet seen RV models surpass the proportion of sedans. According to the imported passenger car registration statistics from the Korea Imported Car Association, the total number of registrations in the first quarter was 61,732 units. Among them, RVs accounted for 25,592 units, which is 41.46% of the total. In the first quarter of last year, 71,908 units were registered, with RVs accounting for 45.69%.

In the first quarter of this year, sedans dominated the top-selling models. The first place was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class with 7,470 units sold, the second was the BMW 5 Series with 5,326 units, and the third was the Mercedes-Benz S-Class with 4,107 units. The fourth and fifth places were taken by BMW and Mercedes-Benz SUV models X5 and GLE.

The industry believes that the reason sedans sell well among imported cars is that most foreign brands entering Korea are premium and focus on sedans as their main models. Professor Kim Pilsoo of the Department of Automotive Studies at Daelim University said, "When we talk about sedans, there are many traditional high-priced vehicles, and most imported cars are sold by high-end premium brands," adding, "Since premium brands focus on sedans, that aspect has influenced the market."