23,840 Imported Cars in March... "Mercedes-Benz is No. 1"

The Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) announced on the 5th that the number of new registrations of imported passenger cars in March was recorded at 23,840 units. This represents a 10.3% increase compared to February, but a 4.3% decrease compared to March of last year.

By brand, Mercedes-Benz led with 6,533 units. This was followed by BMW with 5,664 units, Audi with 2,260 units, Volvo with 2,156 units, Lexus with 1,376 units, and Porsche with 1,117 units. The best-selling models were the Benz E 350 4MATIC (1,275 units), Lexus ES300h (1,003 units), and BMW 520 (823 units), in that order.

By engine displacement, vehicles under 2000cc accounted for the largest share with 12,709 units (53.3%). This was followed by 2000cc to under 3000cc with 7,472 units (31.3%), 3000cc to under 4000cc with 1,214 units (5.1%), 4000cc and above with 649 units (2.7%), and others (electric vehicles) with 1,796 units (7.5%).

By purchase type, individual purchases accounted for 15,154 units (63.6%), while corporate purchases accounted for 8,686 units (36.4%). Among individual purchases, registrations by region were Gyeonggi with 4,774 units (31.5%), Seoul with 3,326 units (21.9%), and Busan with 912 units (6.0%). For corporate purchases, registrations by region were Incheon with 2,539 units (29.2%), Busan with 1,884 units (21.7%), and Gyeongnam with 1,433 units (16.5%).

Jung Yoon-young, Vice Chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), explained, “The increase in new registrations of imported passenger cars in March compared to the previous month was due to securing inventory from some brands and the effect of new models.”