Audi sales in Korea drive off the cliff as Tesla, Volvo rise

Industry

Published: 21 May. 2024, 16:22 Updated: 21 May. 2024, 17:03

Audi sales in Korea drive off the cliff as Tesla, Volvo rise

Volvo Cars' XC60 [VOLVO CAR KOREA]

Korea’s imported car market is undergoing a tectonic shift — with Audi slipping in the rankings while Tesla, Volvo and Lexus compete for its vacated seat.

While BMW and Mercedes securely maintained the top two spots in the first quarter of the year, Audi slid to 10th place from third last year.

BMW took the crown in the January-March period with some 17,000 cars sold to claim 31.1 percent of the Korean imported vehicle market, while Mercedes finished in the No. 2 spot with 20 percent, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.

Tesla sold a total of 6,200 cars, usurping Audi for third with 11.4 percent of the market.

Japan's Lexus brand is in pursuit of the U.S. EV maker for the No. 3 spot, selling 3,135 cars in the three-month period to grab 5.7 percent of the market.

Volvo is shoulder to shoulder with Toyota's luxury division, selling 3,007 cars during the cited period. It held 5.5 percent of the country's imported car market.

A Tesla Model Y is seen on a Tesla car lot in Texas. [AFP/YONHAP]

Porsche came in at No. 6 with 4.2 percent of the market share, followed by Toyota at 4.2 percent. BMW's Mini had 4.1 percent while Volkswagen 2.7 percent.

Audi's weak sales saw it slip seven spots, with the once-beloved German carmaker selling 1,100 cars in Korea in the first quarter, down 84.1 percent on year.

A total of 54,583 imported cars were newly registered in the first quarter, down 11.5 percent on year. Overall sales of imports have fallen in recent months while Genesis, a luxury stand-alone brand under Hyundai Motor, has sold well in the premium segment.

Sales of the domestic premium lineup rose 10 percent on year to 33,770 thanks to the facelifted GV80, the first SUV from Genesis. Roughly 13,600 GV80s were sold in the first quarter, a 114 percent surge from the same period last year.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]