25,000 Imported Cars Sold in June... Tesla Ranks 1st and 2nd in Popularity

4.5% Increase Compared to Previous Month
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Tesla Form the Big Three

In June of this year, approximately 25,000 imported passenger cars were sold in the domestic market. The top two best-selling vehicles were both from the electric car brand Tesla.

On the 3rd, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) announced that the number of newly registered imported passenger cars in June was 25,300 units. This represents a 4.5% increase compared to the previous month but a 5.4% decrease compared to the same month last year. The cumulative total for the first half of the year was 125,652 units, down 3.9% from the first half of last year.

The best-selling brand was Mercedes-Benz, with 6,661 new registrations. Following were BMW with 6,172 units and Tesla with 5,293 units, forming the leading group. Volvo (1,452 units) and Lexus (1,047 units) also sold over 1,000 units. Audi, once considered part of the so-called 'German Big Three' along with Mercedes-Benz and BMW, sold only 902 units. Other sales figures included ▲Mini 746 units ▲Toyota 660 units ▲Land Rover 414 units ▲Volkswagen 400 units ▲Ford 289 units ▲Porsche 267 units ▲Honda 230 units ▲Jeep 206 units ▲Lincoln 165 units ▲Chevrolet 78 units ▲Peugeot 76 units ▲Cadillac 62 units ▲Bentley 40 units ▲Lamborghini 40 units ▲Maserati 27 units ▲Polestar 27 units ▲GMC 26 units ▲Rolls-Royce 20 units.

The best-selling vehicle was Tesla's Model Y, with 3,404 units sold last month alone. Tesla's Model 3 ranked second with 1,753 units sold. The third was the Mercedes-Benz E200 with 1,111 units.

Meanwhile, among the 25,300 newly registered vehicles last month, 16,604 units (65.6%) were purchased by individuals. Corporate purchases accounted for 8,696 units (34.4%). Among corporate purchases, Busan had the highest number of registrations with 2,480 units, followed by Incheon with 2,306 units and Gyeongnam with 1,502 units.

Jung Yoon-young, Vice Chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), explained, "The increase in new registrations of imported passenger cars in June was driven by securing inventory from some brands and the effect of new models."