1.3 out of 10 Registered Vehicles in Korea Are Imported Cars... Increased by 2 Million Units in 10 Years

In Passenger Car Market Share, Mercedes-Benz Leads, Followed by BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen

It was found that 1.3 out of every 10 cars running on the roads in South Korea are imported vehicles. As the sales of imported cars have steadily increased domestically, the cumulative number of registered imported cars exceeded 3.5 million last year.

On the 26th, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) announced that the number of imported cars registered with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the end of last year was 3,508,876. This corresponds to 13.3% of the total cumulative number of vehicles registered in South Korea. Compared to 2011 (about 590,000 units), it has increased sixfold, and the number of sales has increased by more than 2 million units over the past 10 years.

By region, Gyeonggi-do had the highest number of imported car registrations at 26.8%. This was followed by Seoul at 19.5%, Incheon at 8.8%, and Busan at 8.3%. Among metropolitan cities, Incheon had the highest number of registrations.

Provided by Korea Imported Car Association

Among imported cars operating domestically, the passenger car brand with the highest market share was Mercedes-Benz, accounting for 802,494 units or 22.9%. Next was BMW with 720,427 units (20.5%). Following were Audi (6.6%), Volkswagen (6.1%), and Lexus (4.1%).

For commercial vehicle brands, Volvo Trucks recorded the highest market share with 18,123 units. Volvo Trucks accounted for 0.5% of all registered imported cars and 35.8% of commercial vehicles.

Jung Yoon-young, Vice Chairman of KAIDA, said, "Over the past 30 years, imported cars have contributed to the development of the automobile market by expanding consumer choices through the launch of new brands and models." He added, "Going forward, KAIDA will faithfully fulfill its role as an information provider, which is the foundation of the automobile industry."