The Hyundai Santa Fe signs its first podium finish in over 3 years.
New light vehicle sales in South Korea drop -4.8% year-on-year in October to 138,341 units. This includes 117,012 local manufacturers (-2.5%) and 21,329 foreigners (-15.9%). Year-to-date, the market remains in positive at +5.1% to 1,424,325 including 1,205,239 locals (+6.7%) and 219,071 foreigners (-2.9%). Hyundai (+14.7%) defies the depleted market to lodge a double-digit gain and reach 41% share vs. 36.8% year-to-date. Threatened by sister brand Kia last year, this time it has a clear 13,800 unit advantage and almost 10 percentage points of share. Kia indeed is down -0.2% to 31.1% share vs. 33% so far this year. Genesis (-32.7%) craters but stays in 3rd place above competitors Mercedes (-14.3%) and BMW (-11.4%) both falling faster than the market. GM Korea (+9.8%) shines in 6th position whereas KG Mobility (ex Ssangyong, -51.5%) freefalls. The situation is even worse for Renault Korea (-66.6%). Below, notice Volvo (+123.1%), Toyota (+49.8%) and Lincoln (+135.7%) all in great share but below 1% share.
As for the domestic car ranking, the Kia Sorento (+71.2%) is boosted by the new model to repeat at #1. This is only the 2nd time the Sorento ever tops the South Korean charts. Below a weak Hyundai Porter (-4.9%), the new gen Hyundai Santa Fe (+206.1%) triples its year-ago volume and steps up two spots on September to crack the podium for the first time since August 2020. The Hyundai Grandeur (+75.8%) also impresses but drops two ranks on last month to #$. It however retains the YTD top spot, a comfortable 14,000 sales above the Porter. The Hyundai Avante (-10.7%) and Kia Bongo (-16.8%) struggle below unlike the Hyundai Sonata (+45.9%) and Kia Ray (+43.4%). The Hyundai Tucson (+98.5%), Kona (+495.1%) and Venue (+68.4%) also surge ahead.
Over in the foreign models charts, the Mercedes E-Class (+29.1%) reclaims the top spot, a ranking it now also holds year-to-date, bypassing the BMW 5 Series (-75.8%). The Tesla Model Y goes from just 1 sale in October 2022 to 2,814 this month, enough for a 2nd place. It accesses the 3rd rank year-to-date as a result. The BMW 3 Series (+718.8%) completes the podium. The BMW X7 (+3240%), Lexus ES (+55.1%), Mercedes S-Class (+49.7%) and Volvo XC60 (+746.3%) also make themselves noticed in the remainder of the Top 10.
Previous month: South Korea September 2023: Kia Sorento scores first win, Hyundai Santa Fe up to #5
One year ago: South Korea October 2022: Hyundai Porter and Kia Bongo lead, Hyundai Ioniq 6 just misses out on Top 10
Full October 2023 Top 32 All brands, Top 55 All domestic models and Top 50 foreign models below.
South Korea October 2023 – brands:
Note: Tesla doesn’t report to KAIDA and therefore doesn’t appear in this ranking.
| Pos | Brand | Oct-23 | % | /22 | Sep | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Hyundai | 56,732 | 41.0% | + 14.7% | 1 | 523,582 | 36.8% | + 16.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 42,960 | 31.1% | – 0.2% | 2 | 469,781 | 33.0% | + 7.2% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Genesis | 7,596 | 5.5% | – 32.7% | 3 | 104,984 | 7.4% | – 3.0% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 6,612 | 4.8% | – 14.3% | 5 | 60,988 | 4.3% | – 4.4% | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | BMW | 5,985 | 4.3% | – 11.4% | 4 | 62,514 | 4.4% | – 3.1% | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | GM Korea | 4,469 | 3.2% | + 9.8% | 7 | 33,525 | 2.4% | + 0.6% | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | KG Mobility (ex Ssangyong) | 3,804 | 2.7% | – 51.5% | 6 | 54,788 | 3.8% | – 3.4% | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Renault Korea | 1,451 | 1.0% | – 66.6% | 8 | 18,579 | 1.3% | – 57.6% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Volvo | 1,263 | 0.9% | + 123.1% | 10 | 13,770 | 1.0% | + 37.7% | 10 | 11 |
| 10 | Audi | 1,151 | 0.8% | – 56.4% | 9 | 15,258 | 1.1% | – 10.7% | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Lexus | 963 | 0.7% | + 23.3% | 11 | 11,008 | 0.8% | + 93.0% | 11 | 15 |
| 12 | Volkswagen | 853 | 0.6% | – 23.4% | 14 | 7,819 | 0.5% | – 30.0% | 13 | 10 |
| 13 | Mini | 732 | 0.5% | + 19.4% | 13 | 7,734 | 0.5% | – 14.3% | 14 | 12 |
| 14 | Toyota | 722 | 0.5% | + 49.8% | 15 | 6,767 | 0.5% | + 26.4% | 15 | 17 |
| 15 | Porsche | 705 | 0.5% | – 4.3% | 12 | 9,690 | 0.7% | + 38.1% | 12 | 14 |
| 16 | Chevrolet | 587 | 0.4% | – 63.0% | 16 | 4,896 | 0.3% | – 34.5% | 16 | 13 |
| 17 | Land Rover | 291 | 0.2% | – 11.6% | 17 | 4,384 | 0.3% | + 83.7% | 17 | 20 |
| 18 | Polestar | 287 | 0.2% | + 15.3% | 21 | 1,389 | 0.1% | – 43.2% | 21 | 21 |
| 19 | Jeep | 233 | 0.2% | – 69.6% | 18 | 3,632 | 0.3% | – 39.4% | 18 | 16 |
| 20 | Honda | 233 | 0.2% | – 14.7% | 23 | 1,047 | 0.1% | – 62.8% | 22 | 19 |
| 21 | Ford | 165 | 0.1% | + 6.5% | 19 | 2,762 | 0.2% | – 34.3% | 19 | 18 |
| 22 | Peugeot | 140 | 0.1% | – 54.2% | 20 | 1,487 | 0.1% | – 13.7% | 20 | 23 |
| 23 | Lincoln | 132 | 0.1% | + 135.7% | 22 | 967 | 0.1% | – 55.6% | 23 | 22 |
| 24 | Bentley | 73 | 0.1% | – 2.7% | 25 | 682 | 0.0% | – 1.3% | 25 | 25 |
| 25 | Cadillac | 67 | 0.0% | – 9.5% | 24 | 744 | 0.1% | + 0.8% | 24 | 24 |
| 26 | Lamborghini | 35 | 0.0% | – 34.0% | 28 | 351 | 0.0% | + 12.9% | 28 | 27 |
| 27 | Maserati | 30 | 0.0% | + 50.0% | 27 | 364 | 0.0% | – 25.9% | 27 | 26 |
| 28 | DS | 27 | 0.0% | + 350.0% | 30 | 141 | 0.0% | + 93.2% | 30 | 30 |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce | 17 | 0.0% | + 70.0% | 29 | 244 | 0.0% | + 23.9% | 29 | 28 |
| 30 | GMC | 15 | 0.0% | new | 26 | 410 | 0.0% | new | 26 | – |
| 31 | Jaguar | 11 | 0.0% | + 266.7% | 31 | 53 | 0.0% | – 65.6% | 31 | 29 |
| 32 | Citroen | 0 | 0.0% | n/a | – | 0 | 0.0% | – 100.0% | 32 | 31 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 117,012 | 84.6% | – 2.5% | – | 1,205,239 | 84.6% | + 6.7% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 21,329 | 15.4% | – 15.9% | – | 219,071 | 15.4% | – 2.9% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 138,341 | 100.0% | – 4.8% | – | 1,424,325 | 100.0% | + 5.1% | – | – |
South Korea October 2023 – domestic models:
| Pos | Model | Oct-23 | /22 | Sep | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Kia Sorento | 8,777 | + 71.2% | 1 | 68,379 | + 24.7% | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Hyundai Porter | 8,578 | – 4.9% | 3 | 82,367 | + 8.2% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 8,331 | + 206.1% | 5 | 34,881 | + 58.3% | 15 | 21 |
| 4 | Hyundai Grandeur | 8,192 | + 75.8% | 2 | 96,672 | + 77.8% | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Hyundai Avante | 5,017 | – 10.7% | 8 | 54,394 | + 21.4% | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Kia Bongo | 4,887 | – 16.8% | 6 | 53,249 | – 2.8% | 7 | 4 |
| 7 | Hyundai Sonata | 4,849 | + 45.9% | 13 | 29,581 | – 26.1% | 18 | 9 |
| 8 | Kia Ray | 4,824 | + 43.4% | 11 | 42,089 | + 16.4% | 9 | 13 |
| 9 | Kia Sportage | 4,707 | – 4.9% | 4 | 58,028 | + 33.6% | 5 | 7 |
| 10 | Kia Carnival | 3,933 | – 21.4% | 9 | 58,695 | + 32.9% | 4 | 5 |
| 11 | Genesis GV70 | 3,707 | + 53.6% | 15 | 28,916 | + 25.2% | 20 | 18 |
| 12 | Hyundai Casper | 3,648 | – 6.7% | 10 | 35,729 | – 8.2% | 14 | 10 |
| 13 | Hyundai Tucson | 3,432 | + 98.5% | 12 | 36,951 | + 34.4% | 11 | 16 |
| 14 | Hyundai Staria | 3,265 | – 5.7% | 17 | 32,902 | + 22.1% | 16 | 15 |
| 15 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 3,043 | new | 26 | 19,713 | new | 25 | – |
| 16 | Kia Seltos | 3,008 | – 4.5% | 7 | 42,633 | + 21.3% | 8 | 14 |
| 17 | Hyundai Kona | 2,934 | + 495.1% | 18 | 29,386 | + 321.8% | 19 | 38 |
| 18 | Hyundai Palisade | 2,825 | – 31.9% | 14 | 35,870 | – 12.6% | 12 | 8 |
| 19 | Kia K5 | 2,592 | + 3.1% | 20 | 27,233 | + 5.9% | 21 | 17 |
| 20 | Kia K8 | 2,248 | – 37.8% | 19 | 35,779 | – 2.5% | 13 | 12 |
| 21 | Kia Morning | 2,225 | – 0.9% | 21 | 21,960 | – 8.0% | 22 | 20 |
| 22 | Genesis G80 | 1,969 | – 36.1% | 16 | 38,084 | – 0.0% | 10 | 11 |
| 23 | Kia Niro | 1,813 | + 10.4% | 22 | 20,488 | – 20.4% | 24 | 19 |
| 24 | KG Mobility Torres | 1,628 | – 65.6% | 23 | 32,022 | + 102.2% | 17 | 28 |
| 25 | Kia EV6 | 1,564 | – 28.1% | 35 | 15,438 | – 27.6% | 26 | 25 |
| 26 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 1,471 | – 32.2% | 33 | 14,091 | – 43.1% | 27 | 23 |
| 27 | KG Mobility Rexton Sports | 1,320 | – 36.4% | 25 | 13,347 | – 41.9% | 28 | 24 |
| 28 | Hyundai Venue | 1,182 | + 68.4% | 31 | 6,979 | + 0.1% | 34 | 37 |
| 29 | Kia K3 | 939 | – 37.4% | 28 | 10,430 | – 37.5% | 30 | 29 |
| 30 | Genesis GV80 | 885 | – 54.5% | 24 | 20,549 | + 16.5% | 23 | 26 |
| 31 | Kia EV9 | 833 | new | 27 | 4,989 | new | 37 | – |
| 32 | Renault Korea QM6 | 787 | – 60.8% | 29 | 9,076 | – 61.4% | 31 | 22 |
| 33 | Genesis G90 | 646 | – 77.1% | 30 | 10,606 | – 46.1% | 29 | 27 |
| 34 | KG Mobility Tivoli | 577 | + 32.0% | 32 | 5,642 | – 43.7% | 36 | 34 |
| 35 | Renault Korea XM3 | 518 | – 66.4% | 34 | 7,515 | – 51.3% | 33 | 30 |
| 36 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 496 | – 63.5% | 36 | 6,689 | – 48.7% | 35 | 31 |
| 37 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 472 | – 87.1% | 39 | 8,483 | + 34.1% | 32 | 33 |
| 38 | Chevrolet Colorado | 335 | + 100.6% | 46 | 1,528 | – 36.8% | 46 | 45 |
| 39 | Kia Mohave | 293 | – 70.1% | 40 | 4,455 | – 57.1% | 38 | 32 |
| 40 | Genesis G70 | 278 | – 48.5% | 38 | 3,777 | – 19.3% | 40 | 40 |
| 41 | Kia K9 | 226 | – 39.1% | 42 | 3,439 | – 35.9% | 41 | 39 |
| 42 | Chevrolet Traverse | 199 | – 23.5% | 48 | 1,034 | – 34.1% | 49 | 47 |
| 43 | Hyundai Nexo | 189 | – 82.8% | 41 | 4,017 | – 53.4% | 39 | 36 |
| 44 | Chevrolet Equinox | 176 | + 30.4% | 49 | 612 | – 32.9% | 50 | 51 |
| 45 | Renault Korea SM6 | 146 | – 69.3% | 44 | 1,920 | – 44.5% | 44 | 43 |
| 46 | KG Mobility Rexton | 144 | – 66.4% | 43 | 2,475 | – 23.0% | 43 | 44 |
| 47 | Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 121 | – 86.7% | 37 | 1,584 | – 14.8% | 45 | 48 |
| 48 | Genesis GV60 | 111 | – 77.5% | 45 | 3,052 | – 39.2% | 42 | 41 |
| 49 | KG Mobility Korando | 87 | – 51.7% | 47 | 1,254 | – 72.7% | 48 | 42 |
| 50 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 50 | + 92.3% | 52 | 222 | – 36.0% | 54 | 55 |
| 51 | KG Mobility Torres EVX | 48 | new | – | 48 | new | 57 | – |
| 52 | GMC Sierra | 32 | new | 50 | 401 | new | 52 | – |
| 53 | Chevrolet Bolt | 17 | – 91.5% | 51 | 229 | – 64.0% | 53 | 53 |
| 54 | Chevrolet Spark | 0 | – 100.0% | – | 1,419 | – 85.6% | 47 | 35 |
| 55 | Kia Stinger | 0 | – 100.0% | – | 483 | – 71.3% | 51 | 46 |
South Korea October 2023 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Oct-23 | /22 | Sep | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Mercedes E Class | 3,578 | + 29.1% | 2 | 19,117 | – 17.4% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 2,814 | ######## | 1 | 9,544 | + 57.2% | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | BMW 3 Series | 958 | + 718.8% | 4 | 5,682 | + 1.2% | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | BMW 5 Series | 644 | – 75.8% | 11 | 16,702 | – 2.2% | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Lexus ES | 529 | + 55.1% | 10 | 6,616 | + 86.3% | 6 | 15 |
| 6 | BMW X7 | 501 | + 3240.0% | 21 | 3,188 | – 18.8% | 18 | 18 |
| 7 | Mercedes S Class | 479 | + 49.7% | 12 | 8,949 | – 19.4% | 4 | 3 |
| 8 | BMW 6 Series | 467 | + 17.6% | 7 | 5,024 | + 39.8% | 10 | 19 |
| 9 | Audi A6 | 466 | – 17.1% | 6 | 6,805 | + 17.2% | 5 | 4 |
| 10 | Volvo XC60 | 457 | + 746.3% | 3 | 4,519 | + 113.6% | 11 | 32 |
| 11 | Mercedes GLC | 447 | – 5.9% | 16 | 5,465 | + 33.0% | 8 | 13 |
| 12 | Mercedes GLE | 425 | – 65.3% | 5 | 5,334 | – 11.0% | 9 | 8 |
| 13 | BMW X5 | 380 | – 57.9% | 8 | 4,178 | – 32.3% | 13 | 5 |
| 14 | Chevrolet Colorado | 335 | + 100.6% | n/a | 1,528 | – 36.8% | 37 | 28 |
| 15 | Mercedes CLS | 333 | – 7.0% | 31 | 2,323 | – 15.9% | 25 | 22 |
| 16 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 310 | + 44.9% | 25 | 2,930 | – 18.9% | 20 | 17 |
| 17 | VW Tiguan | 299 | – 21.1% | 13 | 3,657 | + 5.1% | 17 | 11 |
| 18 | Porsche Cayenne | 297 | – 47.1% | 49 | 4,093 | + 43.1% | 15 | 20 |
| 19 | Polestar 2 | 287 | + 15.3% | 22 | 1,389 | – 43.2% | 40 | 29 |
| 20 | BMW 1 Series | 275 | + 177.8% | 26 | 1,268 | – 24.1% | 44 | 48 |
| 21 | Mercedes GLB | 264 | – 24.4% | 27 | 1,950 | – 23.4% | 32 | 24 |
| 22 | BMW X6 | 255 | – 29.4% | 23 | 2,967 | – 26.5% | 19 | 16 |
| 23 | Toyota RAV4 | 252 | – 20.8% | 28 | 2,411 | + 20.4% | 24 | 31 |
| 24 | BMW iX3 | 238 | – 8.8% | 9 | 2,285 | + 53.7% | 26 | 39 |
| 25 | Lexus NX | 230 | – 36.6% | 29 | 2,574 | + 128.4% | 22 | n/a |
| 26 | BMW X4 | 228 | – 41.1% | 18 | 4,501 | + 12.1% | 12 | 14 |
| 27 | BMW X3 | 221 | – 69.3% | 20 | 4,122 | – 22.3% | 14 | 10 |
| 28 | BMW i4 | 217 | + 65.6% | 19 | 2,227 | + 40.0% | 28 | 35 |
| 29 | BMW 7 Series | 211 | + 305.8% | 15 | 2,565 | – 2.5% | 23 | 26 |
| 30 | Chevrolet Traverse | 199 | – 23.5% | n/a | 1,034 | – 34.1% | 52 | 42 |
| 31 | Mercedes C Class | 198 | + 110.6% | 17 | 3,966 | + 74.3% | 16 | 21 |
| 32 | Volvo V60 | 195 | + 112.0% | n/a | 877 | n/a | 62 | n/a |
| 33 | BMW X1 | 192 | + 9500.0% | 40 | 1,005 | – 55.8% | 56 | 37 |
| 34 | Volvo S90 | 191 | + 109.9% | 46 | 2,630 | – 32.2% | 21 | 12 |
| 35 | Mini Clubman | 187 | + 19.9% | 35 | 1,605 | – 21.1% | 35 | 34 |
| 36 | Mini Countryman | 182 | + 0.6% | 32 | 2,143 | + 6.6% | 29 | 27 |
| 37 | Mercedes G Class | 180 | – 46.3% | n/a | 1,848 | + 44.1% | 33 | 50 |
| 38 | Chevrolet Equinox | 176 | + 30.4% | n/a | 612 | – 32.9% | 71 | n/a |
| 39 | Volvo S60 | 161 | + 69.5% | 37 | 1,387 | + 157.3% | 41 | n/a |
| 40 | BMW i7 | 159 | new | 45 | 646 | new | 69 | – |
| 41 | BMW 2 Series Active Tourer | 157 | + 153.2% | 43 | 818 | + 1219.4% | 64 | n/a |
| 42 | VW ID.4 | 153 | – 73.8% | 30 | 764 | – 39.3% | 66 | n/a |
| 43 | Porsche Taycan | 151 | + 694.7% | n/a | 1,318 | + 38.6% | 43 | n/a |
| 44 | Toyota Camry | 149 | + 609.5% | n/a | 1,634 | + 24.4% | 34 | n/a |
| 45 | BMW 4 Series | 146 | – 14.6% | 50 | 996 | – 12.3% | 58 | n/a |
| 46 | Volvo XC90 | 141 | + 220.5% | n/a | 2,063 | + 57.8% | 31 | 36 |
| 47 | Jeep Wrangler | 139 | – 9.7% | n/a | 1,168 | – 35.1% | 48 | 46 |
| 48 | Range Rover | 131 | + 17.0% | n/a | 2,114 | + 374.0% | 30 | n/a |
| 49 | Lexus RX | 131 | + 235.9% | 47 | 1,040 | + 266.2% | 51 | n/a |
| 50 | Honda CR-V | 131 | – 3.0% | n/a | 682 | – 39.3% | 67 | n/a |
Source: KAIDA, Manufacturers
