German luxury carmaker BMW remained the top imported car brand in South Korea for the second consecutive year in 2024, beating rival Mercedes-Benz.
BMW sold 73,754 vehicles last year, down 3.8% from 2023, said the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) on Monday. The BMW 5 Series midsize sedan was the most popular lineup with sales of more than 20,000 units among the company’s models, according to the association.
Mercedes-Benz was the second-largest imported car brand with sales of 66,400 units.
BMW reclaimed the crown from Mercedes-Benz as the top imported car brand in South Korea last year, the leader from 2016 to 2022.
Tesla Inc., the world’s No. 2 electric vehicle maker, ranked third followed by Sweden’s Volvo and Lexus, the premium brand of Japanese carmaker Toyota Corp.
Total imported car sales dipped 2.9% to 263,288 units in 2024 on weaker demand amid the slowdown in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and insufficient supply of some foreign automakers, the KAIDA said.
BYD’S IMPACT ON TESLA
Tesla sold 29,750 EVs in South Korea last year mainly thanks to the popularity of the Model Y equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
BYD Co., the world’s largest EV maker, is set to debut in the South Korean passenger car market this year, which may bite into the US company’s sales, industry sources said.
BYD is poised to start selling its passenger EVs this month.
“If BYD makes inroads into the market with cost-effective EVs, that is expected to affect Tesla’s sales,” said an imported car industry source. “Competition among foreign car brands is predicted to intensify further.”
By Jung-Eu Shin
newyearis@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
