The Hyundai Grandeur is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea for the 5th time.
Discover over 30 years of South Korean Historical Data here.
The South Korean new car market edges up 4.1% year-on-year in 2023 to 1,739,578 sales. Hyundai (+14.7%) beats its home market to reach 36.5% share vs. 33.1% a year ago. After being threatened by Kia (+4.6%) in 2022, it now has a 70,000 unit advantage and ranked #1 every month except July. Genesis (-6.3%) is in difficulty year-on-year but still lodges an impressive 126,600 sales. BMW (-1.5%) overtakes Mercedes (-5.3%) for the first time in 8 years (since 2015) to take the lead in the foreign brands race. Three domestic manufacturers follow: KG Mobility (-7.7%), GM Korea (+4.1%) and Renault Korea (-58.1%). Lexus (+78.6%), DS (+73.9%), Land Rover (+61.2%), Toyota (+35.7%) and Porsche (+26.7%) secure the largest year-on-year gains in market.
Looking at sales of domestic models, the Hyundai Grandeur (+68.7%) reclaims the top spot it last held in 2020. This is the 5th time the Grandeur is atop the South Korean sales charts after it won from 2017 to 2020. Leader for the past two years, the Hyundai Porter (+5.7%) drops to 2nd place despite outpacing the market. The Kia Sorento (+24.5%) also falls one spot to #3, distancing the Kia Carnival (+18.3%) and Sportage (+25.9%). The Hyundai Avante (+11.3%) stays at #6 whereas the Kia Bongo (-2.9%) endures the only year-on-year loss in the Top 10 and skids to #7. Boosted by a controversial new generation, the Hyundai Santa Fe (+78.9%) surges 13 ranks to #8, the nameplate’s first Top 10 finish since 2020. The Kia Ray (+14.3%) and Kia Seltos (+18%) also insert themselves into the Top 10 at #9 and #10 respectively, both up three spots on last year. The Chevrolet Trax Crossover (#24) and Kia EV9 (#35) are the best-selling 2023 launches.
As far as foreign models are concerned, the Mercedes E-Class (-16.5%) is #1 again despite a harsh fall. It is followed like last year by the BMW 5 Series (-4.7%). The Tesla Model Y (+91.6%) jumps up four spots to #3, dislodging the Mercedes S-Class (-16.7%) from the podium. The Audi A6 (-4.2%) is also down one rank to #5. Below, the Lexus ES (+61%), Mercedes GLC (+33.9%), Volvo XC60 (+136.9%) and BMW 6 Series (+33.4%) impress.
Previous year: South Korea 2022: Kia threatens Hyundai for #1, Hyundai Porter and Kia Sorento on top
Two years ago: South Korea 2021: Hyundai Porter best-seller, Genesis up 28% in market down -8.6%
Full December 2023 Top 32 All brands, Top 57 local models and Top 50 foreigners below.
Full Year 2023 Top 32 All brands, Top 63 local models and Top 40 foreigners vs. Full Year 2022 figures below.
