The Hyundai Grandeur is the best-selling model at home again.
151,728 new light vehicles hit South Korean roads in May, a 5.9% year-on-year improvement. This includes 130,389 local manufacturers (+8.8%) and 21,339 foreigners (-9.2%). Year-to-date, the market is up 11.3% to 730,258 including 626,310 locals (+14.3%) and 103,948 foreigners (-4%). Hyundai (+10%) easily holds onto the top spot with 37.1% share above sister brand Kia (+10.3%) with Genesis up 1.6% to over 12,000 units for the third month in a row. Mercedes (-14.8%) remains in a solid 4th place vs. #6 so far this year, distancing BMW (-5.7%). KG Mobility (ex Ssangyong) beats the market at +12.5% but it’s GM Korea (+71.9%) that posts the most impressive year-on-year gain in the Top 10. Renault Korea (-52.3%) is in freefall and with no new model to be released in 2023 the sales slump will continue. Volvo (+48%) and Porsche (+43.2%) round out the Top 10 in spectacular fashion.
In the local models ranking, the Hyundai Grandeur (+52.3%) is the overall best-seller for the third month in a row and the 4th time this year, cementing its YTD dominance. The Hyundai Porter (-2.9%) is in difficulty but stays #2, a ranking it also holds year-to-date. The next four models all beat the market by a significant margin with double-digit upticks. The Kia Sportage (+36.2%) fares best, followed by the Hyundai Avante (+34.2%), Kia Carnival (+22.1%) and Kia Sorento (+21.3%). Notice also the Kia Seltos up 67.4% at #9. Looking at foreign models, the BMW 5 Series (-0.2%) stays on top above no less than 4 Mercedes: the E-Class (-58.4%) in freefall, the S Class (-11%), GLC (+237.6%) and GLE (+6.3%). The VW Tiguan (+52.7%) surges ahead, as do the Lexus ES (+83.2%), BMW 6 Series (+55.4%) and Porsche Cayenne (+157.7%) in the remainder of the Top 10.
Previous month: South Korea April 2023: Hyundai Grandeur and Kona surge up, registrations up 4.8%
One year ago: South Korea May 2022: Hyundai Casper breaks records in market edging down -3.3%
Full May 2023 Top 32 All brands, Top 52 All local models and Top 50 foreign models below.
South Korea May 2023 – brands:
Note: Tesla doesn’t report sales to KAIA and therefore isn’t included in this table.
| Pos | Brand | May-23 | % | /22 | Apr | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Hyundai | 56,252 | 37.1% | 10.0% | 1 | 271,705 | 37.2% | 24.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 50,364 | 33.2% | 10.3% | 2 | 241,619 | 33.1% | 11.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Genesis | 12,428 | 8.2% | 1.6% | 3 | 55,401 | 7.6% | -1.0% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 6,292 | 4.1% | -14.8% | 4 | 27,420 | 3.8% | -17.8% | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | BMW | 6,036 | 4.0% | -5.7% | 5 | 30,006 | 4.1% | -3.5% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | KG Mobility (ex Ssangyong) | 4,809 | 3.2% | 12.5% | 6 | 33,211 | 4.5% | 40.8% | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | GM Korea | 4,758 | 3.1% | 71.9% | 7 | 13,825 | 1.9% | 5.4% | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Renault Korea | 1,778 | 1.2% | -52.3% | 8 | 10,549 | 1.4% | -43.6% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Volvo | 1,502 | 1.0% | 48.0% | 9 | 7,091 | 1.0% | 24.3% | 10 | 11 |
| 10 | Porsche | 1,005 | 0.7% | 43.2% | 10 | 5,117 | 0.7% | 27.1% | 12 | 14 |
| 11 | Lexus | 974 | 0.6% | 149.1% | 11 | 5,295 | 0.7% | 119.7% | 11 | 15 |
| 12 | Audi | 902 | 0.6% | -51.6% | 16 | 8,289 | 1.1% | 26.2% | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | Mini | 862 | 0.6% | -20.7% | 12 | 3,460 | 0.5% | -26.2% | 13 | 12 |
| 14 | Volkswagen | 862 | 0.6% | -27.1% | 14 | 2,702 | 0.4% | -50.0% | 15 | 10 |
| 15 | Toyota | 629 | 0.4% | 31.0% | 15 | 3,012 | 0.4% | 34.6% | 14 | 17 |
| 16 | Land Rover | 410 | 0.3% | 184.7% | 17 | 2,481 | 0.3% | 130.6% | 16 | 20 |
| 17 | Chevrolet | 396 | 0.3% | -5.3% | 13 | 2,281 | 0.3% | 12.4% | 17 | 13 |
| 18 | Jeep | 288 | 0.2% | -51.3% | 20 | 1,612 | 0.2% | -38.8% | 19 | 16 |
| 19 | Ford | 281 | 0.2% | -38.4% | 18 | 1,844 | 0.3% | 15.0% | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | Peugeot | 171 | 0.1% | 71.0% | 21 | 588 | 0.1% | -30.5% | 21 | 23 |
| 21 | Polestar | 141 | 0.1% | -6.0% | 24 | 306 | 0.0% | -65.2% | 24 | 21 |
| 22 | Honda | 106 | 0.1% | -60.0% | 23 | 462 | 0.1% | -59.2% | 22 | 19 |
| 23 | Lincoln | 90 | 0.1% | -84.5% | 19 | 618 | 0.1% | -55.6% | 20 | 22 |
| 24 | Cadillac | 88 | 0.1% | 25.7% | 22 | 382 | 0.1% | 35.9% | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | Bentley | 79 | 0.1% | 5.3% | 26 | 291 | 0.0% | 10.6% | 25 | 25 |
| 26 | Maserati | 62 | 0.0% | -4.6% | 27 | 162 | 0.0% | -46.0% | 27 | 26 |
| 27 | Lamborghini | 58 | 0.0% | 93.3% | 28 | 143 | 0.0% | 26.5% | 28 | 27 |
| 28 | GMC | 53 | 0.0% | n/a | 25 | 232 | 0.0% | n/a | 26 | – |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce | 34 | 0.0% | 54.5% | 29 | 111 | 0.0% | 9.9% | 29 | 28 |
| 30 | DS | 13 | 0.0% | 62.5% | 31 | 27 | 0.0% | -34.1% | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Jaguar | 5 | 0.0% | -79.2% | 30 | 15 | 0.0% | -82.8% | 31 | 29 |
| 32 | Citroen | 0 | 0.0% | n/a | – | 0 | 0.0% | -100.0% | – | 31 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 130,389 | 85.9% | 8.8% | – | 626,310 | 85.8% | 14.3% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 21,339 | 14.1% | -9.2% | – | 103,948 | 14.2% | -4.0% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 151,728 | 100.0% | 5.9% | – | 730,258 | 100.0% | 11.3% | – | – |
South Korea May 2023 – local models:
| Pos | Model | May-23 | /22 | Apr | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Hyundai Grandeur | 11,581 | 52.3% | 1 | 51,442 | 99.8% | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Hyundai Porter | 8,061 | -2.9% | 2 | 45,101 | 29.3% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Kia Carnival | 6,695 | 22.1% | 4 | 32,992 | 50.6% | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Hyundai Avante | 6,599 | 34.2% | 6 | 30,932 | 27.2% | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | Kia Sorento | 6,499 | 21.3% | 3 | 29,580 | 13.0% | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | Kia Sportage | 6,185 | 36.2% | 5 | 29,666 | 33.3% | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Kia Bongo | 5,269 | -6.8% | 7 | 29,890 | 9.0% | 5 | 4 |
| 8 | Genesis G80 | 4,813 | 11.2% | 8 | 22,403 | -0.3% | 9 | 11 |
| 9 | Kia Seltos | 4,792 | 67.4% | 10 | 21,720 | 24.1% | 10 | 14 |
| 10 | Kia Ray | 4,576 | 20.8% | 9 | 20,742 | 14.2% | 11 | 13 |
| 11 | Kia K8 | 4,487 | 23.4% | 14 | 20,686 | 29.0% | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | Hyundai Tucson | 4,241 | 13.9% | 11 | 19,786 | 16.8% | 14 | 16 |
| 13 | Hyundai Casper | 4,064 | -7.7% | 16 | 16,966 | -9.8% | 16 | 10 |
| 14 | Hyundai Staria | 3,567 | 22.4% | 17 | 17,321 | 41.2% | 15 | 15 |
| 15 | Hyundai Palisade | 3,553 | -13.6% | 12 | 19,930 | -6.3% | 13 | 8 |
| 16 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 3,396 | new | 18 | 6,468 | new | 27 | – |
| 17 | Kia K5 | 3,166 | 20.9% | 22 | 14,539 | 5.4% | 18 | 17 |
| 18 | Genesis GV80 | 2,737 | 67.4% | 19 | 11,993 | 33.2% | 20 | 26 |
| 19 | Hyundai Sonata | 2,630 | -34.1% | 25 | 11,856 | -36.5% | 22 | 9 |
| 20 | Genesis GV70 | 2,615 | -8.5% | 21 | 11,975 | 0.9% | 21 | 18 |
| 21 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 2,557 | 3.2% | 20 | 13,208 | 29.8% | 19 | 21 |
| 22 | Hyundai Kona | 2,522 | 232.3% | 13 | 15,450 | 318.4% | 17 | 38 |
| 23 | Kia Morning | 2,502 | 10.8% | 26 | 10,655 | -10.0% | 24 | 20 |
| 24 | KG Mobility Torres | 2,463 | new | 15 | 22,868 | new | 8 | 28 |
| 25 | Kia Niro | 2,452 | -15.2% | 24 | 10,875 | -14.4% | 23 | 19 |
| 26 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 2,396 | -21.5% | 27 | 8,207 | -39.6% | 26 | 23 |
| 27 | Kia EV6 | 1,894 | -33.9% | 23 | 9,548 | -7.7% | 25 | 25 |
| 28 | KG Mobility Rexton Sports | 1,422 | -24.2% | 28 | 6,265 | -49.9% | 29 | 24 |
| 29 | Genesis G90 | 1,417 | -39.2% | 31 | 5,339 | -28.9% | 30 | 27 |
| 30 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 1,117 | new | 29 | 6,288 | new | 28 | 33 |
| 31 | Kia K3 | 975 | -43.5% | 33 | 4,816 | -49.1% | 32 | 29 |
| 32 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 946 | 8.0% | 30 | 3,418 | -37.7% | 34 | 31 |
| 33 | Renault Korea QM6 | 827 | -33.7% | 32 | 5,045 | -47.0% | 31 | 22 |
| 34 | Renault Korea XM3 | 777 | -59.3% | 34 | 4,349 | -38.0% | 33 | 30 |
| 35 | Genesis GV60 | 598 | -17.4% | 35 | 2,061 | -24.5% | 38 | 41 |
| 36 | Hyundai Venue | 511 | -34.1% | 37 | 2,624 | -30.6% | 35 | 37 |
| 37 | Hyundai Nexo | 410 | -67.7% | 40 | 2,622 | -34.1% | 36 | 36 |
| 38 | KG Mobility Rexton | 379 | 14.8% | 44 | 1,329 | -9.9% | 43 | 44 |
| 39 | KG Mobility Tivoli | 377 | -71.9% | 42 | 2,022 | -67.8% | 39 | 34 |
| 40 | Kia Mohave | 318 | -73.7% | 36 | 2,497 | -49.2% | 37 | 32 |
| 41 | Kia K9 | 310 | -26.0% | 38 | 1,896 | -39.0% | 40 | 39 |
| 42 | Genesis G70 | 248 | -30.5% | 39 | 1,630 | -30.9% | 41 | 40 |
| 43 | Renault Korea SM6 | 174 | -68.5% | 45 | 1,093 | -21.1% | 44 | 43 |
| 44 | KG Mobility Korando | 168 | -76.9% | 48 | 727 | -77.3% | 45 | 42 |
| 45 | Chevrolet Colorado | 127 | -60.3% | 46 | 694 | -50.5% | 46 | 45 |
| 46 | Chevrolet Traverse | 90 | 650.0% | 47 | 491 | 229.5% | 48 | 47 |
| 47 | Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 88 | 319.0% | 43 | 550 | 587.5% | 47 | 48 |
| 48 | GMC Sierra | 50 | new | 52 | 226 | new | 51 | – |
| 49 | Kia Stinger | 45 | -78.2% | 50 | 482 | -51.3% | 49 | 46 |
| 50 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 33 | -67.0% | 53 | 115 | -27.2% | 52 | 55 |
| 51 | Chevrolet Equinox | 15 | 66.7% | 49 | 281 | 3022.2% | 50 | 51 |
| 52 | Chevrolet Bolt | 13 | 550.0% | 51 | 84 | 4100.0% | 53 | 53 |
South Korea May 2023 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | May-23 | /22 | Apr | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | BMW 5 Series | 1,761 | -0.2% | 1 | 9,416 | -1.8% | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Mercedes E Class | 1,466 | -58.4% | 2 | 7,318 | -46.9% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Mercedes S Class | 856 | -11.0% | 5 | 4,687 | -26.3% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Mercedes GLC | 655 | 237.6% | 4 | 2,571 | 87.7% | 9 | 13 |
| 5 | Mercedes GLE | 594 | 6.3% | 3 | 2,292 | -8.6% | 12 | 8 |
| 6 | VW Tiguan | 565 | 52.7% | 13 | 1,553 | 5.2% | 16 | 11 |
| 7 | Lexus ES | 546 | 83.2% | 6 | 3,640 | 91.4% | 5 | 15 |
| 8 | BMW 6 Series | 522 | 55.4% | 14 | 2,429 | 41.1% | 10 | 19 |
| 9 | Porsche Cayenne | 469 | 157.7% | 9 | 2,600 | 78.3% | 8 | 20 |
| 10 | Mercedes C Class | 435 | 1.6% | 12 | 2,226 | 18.7% | 13 | 21 |
| 11 | BMW 3 Series | 400 | -40.7% | 8 | 2,174 | -33.5% | 14 | 9 |
| 12 | BMW X3 | 397 | -22.8% | 10 | 2,671 | 14.0% | 7 | 10 |
| 13 | BMW X5 | 374 | -30.6% | 11 | 2,350 | -13.9% | 11 | 5 |
| 14 | BMW X6 | 363 | -15.6% | 18 | 1,496 | -14.1% | 17 | 16 |
| 15 | Volvo XC60 | 357 | 80.3% | 7 | 1,995 | 77.2% | 15 | 32 |
| 16 | Lexus NX | 339 | 5550.0% | 20 | 1,278 | 14100.0% | 22 | n/a |
| 17 | BMW iX3 | 336 | 304.8% | 44 | 602 | 25.4% | 44 | 39 |
| 18 | Tesla Model Y | 331 | -65.5% | n/a | 1,451 | 50.4% | 18 | 7 |
| 19 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 328 | -20.2% | 17 | 1,447 | -16.1% | 19 | 17 |
| 20 | Volvo S90 | 306 | 188.7% | 31 | 1,446 | -12.0% | 20 | 12 |
| 21 | Volvo XC40 | 300 | 92.3% | 35 | 933 | -7.6% | 29 | 38 |
| 22 | BMW X4 | 299 | 5.3% | 15 | 2,686 | 68.2% | 6 | 14 |
| 23 | Mercedes G Class | 292 | 421.4% | 16 | 758 | 78.4% | 39 | 50 |
| 24 | Mercedes GLS | 272 | -6.5% | 19 | 808 | -5.2% | 36 | 45 |
| 25 | Mercedes CLS | 268 | -44.9% | 39 | 912 | -36.3% | 32 | 22 |
| 26 | BMW 7 Series | 261 | 4.4% | 30 | 870 | -28.7% | 34 | 26 |
| 27 | BMW X7 | 260 | -18.8% | 28 | 1,266 | -34.2% | 23 | 18 |
| 28 | Volvo XC90 | 256 | -14.7% | 25 | 1,050 | 34.6% | 27 | 36 |
| 29 | Mercedes EQE | 250 | new | 42 | 931 | new | 30 | n/a |
| 30 | Mini Countryman | 241 | 31.7% | 26 | 938 | -21.0% | 28 | 27 |
| 31 | Audi A6 | 240 | -71.4% | 37 | 3,885 | 63.0% | 4 | 4 |
| 32 | Toyota RAV4 | 227 | -23.6% | 27 | 1,149 | 92.1% | 24 | 31 |
| 33 | BMW i4 | 224 | 86.7% | 29 | 1,092 | 171.6% | 25 | 35 |
| 34 | Mercedes GLB | 200 | 24.2% | 32 | 781 | -21.0% | 38 | 24 |
| 35 | Toyota Sienna | 195 | 1850.0% | 23 | 926 | 184.0% | 31 | n/a |
| 36 | Range Rover | 192 | 1645.5% | 22 | 1,324 | 1555.0% | 21 | n/a |
| 37 | Mercedes EQA | 182 | 130.4% | 34 | 729 | 14.3% | 40 | n/a |
| 38 | Mercedes CLA | 176 | 450.0% | 43 | 874 | -3.1% | 33 | 41 |
| 39 | Toyota Camry | 170 | 109.9% | 41 | 839 | -6.5% | 35 | n/a |
| 40 | Mini Clubman | 161 | -46.9% | 33 | 696 | -27.8% | 41 | 34 |
| 41 | Mercedes EQS | 151 | 164.9% | 49 | 585 | 240.1% | 45 | 47 |
| 42 | Porsche 911 | 148 | 3.5% | 45 | 549 | -19.0% | 47 | n/a |
| 43 | Porsche Panamera | 147 | 47.0% | 38 | 797 | 67.4% | 37 | n/a |
| 44 | Mercedes A Class | 141 | -61.6% | n/a | 496 | -57.9% | 51 | 23 |
| 45 | Polestar 2 | 141 | -6.0% | n/a | 306 | -65.2% | 61 | 29 |
| 46 | Jeep Wrangler | 138 | -58.6% | n/a | 358 | -55.5% | 57 | 46 |
| 47 | VW Golf | 130 | 19.3% | n/a | 429 | -28.6% | 55 | n/a |
| 48 | Audi A3 | 129 | n/a | n/a | 377 | n/a | 56 | n/a |
| 49 | Chevrolet Colorado | 127 | -60.3% | 36 | 694 | -50.5% | 42 | 28 |
| 50 | Porsche Taycan | 127 | -32.1% | 48 | 528 | -25.3% | 48 | n/a |
Source: KAIA, Manufacturers
