50.3% of Total Sales Are Electric Vehicles
Electric and Hybrid Cars Up, Gasoline Cars Down
Audi has emerged as an unexpected 'electric vehicle powerhouse' in the domestic imported car market. While overall domestic sales have plummeted by 75% this year, Audi continues to receive a strong response in electric vehicles, with EVs accounting for more than half of its total sales.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) on the 25th, electric vehicles accounted for 18.2% of newly registered imported cars from January to April this year, totaling 13,863 units. This is an increase of 11.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year (6.6%).
By fuel type, hybrids ranked first with a share close to half at 48.7%, followed by gasoline at 27.4%. The number of hybrid vehicle registrations was 37,085 units, up 16.5 percentage points from 32.2% last year, while gasoline vehicle registrations dropped by nearly half, decreasing 21.6 percentage points from 40,481 units last year to 27.4%.
Imported car brands that recorded over 10,000 hybrid vehicle registrations from January to April this year were Mercedes-Benz (14,341 units) and BMW (11,060 units). By model, the top registrations were BMW 520 (4,514 units), Mercedes-Benz E-300 4MATIC (3,572 units), and Lexus ES300h (2,417 units).
During the same period, Tesla Model Y led imported electric vehicle registrations with 6,016 units, followed by BMW with 2,109 units. Mercedes-Benz sold 1,561 units, Audi 940 units, Volkswagen 519 units, and Porsche 256 units, forming the top ranks.
Among these, Audi’s electric vehicles accounted for half (50.3%) of its total sales. This was a significant difference compared to other leading brands’ EV shares: BMW at 9.3%, Mercedes-Benz at 9%, Volkswagen at 25.6%, and Porsche at 8.8%.
The model driving Audi’s electric vehicle sales is the 'Q4 40 e-tron.' The Q4 40 e-tron is Audi’s first compact segment pure electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) based on the 'MEB' platform. It received great acclaim, with all units sold out within two months of its domestic launch.
From January to April this year, 621 units of the Q4 40 e-tron were registered, and last month, the Audi Q4 40 e-tron and Audi Q4 Sportback 40 e-tron sold 239 and 86 units respectively, making them the best-selling models among German premium imported electric vehicles.
The popularity of Audi electric vehicles is attributed to their driving range suitable for various driving conditions including daily urban driving and long-distance travel, spacious interior comparable to mid-size SUVs, fast charging, various charging service benefits, and domestic subsidy incentives.
Meanwhile, an Audi Korea official stated, "Audi will continue to convey the brand’s unique value of 'progress through technology' in the premium electric vehicle market," adding, "We expect to continue the success story of the Audi e-tron lineup, which has played a pioneering role in the electric vehicle market."
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