Imported Car Market Share Doubled in 10 Years...

Last Year, 1.45 Million Domestic Passenger Cars Registered
Imported Cars at 290,000 Units with 20% Market Share
Ongoing Complaints Over Insufficient AS Infrastructure

A luxury imported car showroom in Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] About one in five passenger cars sold domestically last year was an imported car. After the domestic automobile market was opened, it took 25 years to exceed a 10% market share, but it surpassed 20% again in just 10 years.

According to last year's new car registration data compiled by market research firm KaizU on the 10th, a total of 1,445,757 passenger cars were registered over the year. Among them, imported cars accounted for 290,034 units. Imported cars accounted for 20.1% of the total. Both the sales volume and market share of imported cars are record highs.

The domestic automobile market was opened to overseas in 1987. The market share, which was less than 0.1% the following year, exceeded 1% only after 15 years (1.3% in 2002). It began to increase significantly in the late 2000s, surpassing 10% for the first time in 2012 (10.1%), and again exceeded 20% last year after another 10 years.

The growth of the imported car market is largely due to the increased income level of Korean citizens and active promotional activities centered on high-end European brands. There is a strong preference for large vehicles, so relatively expensive models sell well. Korea is a lucrative market for overseas automakers as well.

Although the market has diversified, the rapid growth in a short period has its downsides. A representative issue is the lack of maintenance and after-sales service (AS). The industry estimates that there are about 490 service centers for imported cars across 15 brands with high sales volume. This is incomparable to the approximately 2,100 centers operated by Hyundai Motor and Kia, the largest domestic automakers.

The number is slightly higher than Renault Korea (about 420) and Korea GM Chevrolet (about 400). Considering that Renault and Korea GM have domestic factories, the service centers of imported car companies with similar or higher sales volume are only in the dozens each. It is not only difficult to get maintenance, but also expensive, and the dual response through dealers leads to many customer complaints.