Tesla Ranks 1st in Imported Car Market for 7 Consecutive Months…Followed by BMW, Benz, BYD

Tesla Ranks 1st in Imported Car Market for 7 Consecutive Months…Followed by BMW, Benz, BYD

29,817 Imported Cars Registered in August…Up 9.2% from the Same Month Last Year

U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has ranked 1st in sales in the imported car market for 7 consecutive months.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) on the 3rd, new registrations of imported passenger cars in August totaled 29,817 units, an increase of 9.2% compared to the same month last year. This was a 3.7% decrease compared to July this year (30,976 units).

Tesla maintained its top position with 10,400 units, being the only imported car manufacturer to exceed 10,000 units. It has been ranked 1st for 7 consecutive months since February this year.

This was followed by BMW with 6,180 units, Mercedes-Benz with 4,037 units, BYD with 3,002 units, Toyota with 1,015 units, Lexus with 840 units, and Audi with 810 units.

Tesla Model Y also topped model sales with 9,638 units sold. BMW 5 Series (1,902 units), Benz E-Class (1,404 units), BYD Dolphin (1,202 units), and BYD Seal Lion 7 (819 units) took 2nd to 5th place.

By fuel type, electric vehicles were the most numerous with 15,183 units (50.9%), followed by hybrids with 11,923 units (40.0%), gasoline with 2,540 units (8.5%), and diesel with 171 units (0.6%).

By purchase type, individual purchases accounted for 17,763 units (59.6%), and corporate purchases accounted for 12,054 units (40.4%).

Cumulative registrations from January to August this year totaled 244,825 units, an increase of 27.2% compared to the same period last year (192,514 units).

Jeong Yoon-young, Vice President of KAIDA, explained, "New registrations of imported passenger cars in August slightly decreased compared to the previous month due to inventory depletion and supply shortages following the launch of new models by some brands."