Slick cars are the key to the Korean market
Volkswagen was the most popular vehicle with drivers in their 30’s and 40’s in the first half of the year.[JoongAng Ilbo]
Among consumers in Korea, there seems to be no doubt. These days, small, slick-looking vehicles with high fuel-economy ratings are winning out over beefed-up trucks and SUVs.
Volkswagen was the most popular vehicle with drivers in their 30’s and 40’s in the first half of the year.[JoongAng Ilbo]
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, a total of 14,128 imported vehicles were sold in Korea in the first six months of the year.
Audi trailed behind, selling 995 vehicles in the same period, and BMW came in third with 856 vehicles. Honda and Mercedes-Benz ranked fourth and fifth with 797 and 721 vehicles, respectively.
The most popular car in the German automaker’s line was the Volkswagen Golf, with 516 units sold. The Passat was the second highest seller at 412 vehicles, followed by the Tiguan, with 231 vehicles sold.
Volkswagen Korea is hoping the surge in the popularity of its cars will continue when it introduces an upgraded version of the Golf next month.
For female drives, the most popular vehicle by far was the BMW Mini Cooper. The Mini has the distinction of being the only vehicle purchased by more female consumers than males in the first half of the year.
A total of 628 Mini Coopers were sold in the first six months of the year. Of them, 201 Minis were sold to women and 198 to men, with the remaining 220 sold to corporate buyers.
Women purchased 32.9 percent of the vehicle imports purchased in the first six months of the year, but the Mini Cooper was the only vehicle for which 50 percent of the buyers were women.
The Mini Cooper was first imported here in 2005 and has remained popular with female consumers, particularly young women in their 20’s, ever since. Women accounted for more than 40 percent of the Mini Coopers sold in Korea until this year, when that figure went up over 50 percent.
Women between the ages of 21 and 30 account for 75 percent of the Mini Cooper’s clientele in Korea.
But the Mini Cooper is not the only female favorite. The next popular vehicle brand among women is Mercedes-Benz, followed by Peugeot, Porsche, Lexus and Audi, according to the importers and distributors association. The vehicles all feature slick, attractive exteriors.
Meanwhile, bulky, gas-guzzling vehicles like those from Land Rover, Chrysler, Ford and Cadillac are sure to turn women away.
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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