The Kia Sorento is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea for the first time.
The South Korean new light vehicle market dips -6.1% year-on-year in September to 129,243 sales, including 106,678 for domestic manufacturers (-6.1%) and 22,565 for foreigners (-5.7%). The year-to-date tally remains in clear positive at +6.3% to 1,285,984 including 1,088,227 locals (+7.8%) and 197,741 foreigners (-1.2%). Hyundai (-4%) stays on top of the brands charts but drops to 35.1% share vs. 36.3% year-to-date, while Kia (+11%) is a strong second at 34.4% of the market vs. 33.2% so far this year. Genesis (-11.7%) is in difficulty in third place like BMW (-16.4%) in 4th. Mercedes (+27.2%) on the other hand is euphoric at #5. The next four manufacturers all fall heavily, with Renault Korea (-67.3%) the hardest hit followed by KG Mobility (-47%), GM Korea (-34.4%) and Audi (-21.9%). In contrast Volvo (+76.5%) stuns at #10 and Porsche (+108.7%) does even better at #12.
The new model lifts the Hyundai Santa Fe to #5.
In the domestic models ranking, the Kia Sorento (+91%) enjoys the benefits of its facelift to score its first ever monthly win at home, scoring its highest monthly volume since June 2020. The hybrid variant accounts for 63% of its volume for the month. As a result the Sorento is now up to #3 year-to-date. The Hyundai Grandeur (+75.7%) is relegated to 2nd place but cements its YTD leadership with almost 15,000 units more than the #2, the Hyundai Porter (-32%). Note Grandeur hybrids account for 57% of the nameplate’s sales this month. The Kia Sportage (+21.6%) is also in excellent shape at #4 while the Hyundai Santa Fe (+120.8%) is starting to take full advantage of its new generation, up 13 spots on last month to #5.
The BMW i7 is inside the Top 50 most popular foreign models in South Korea.
Over in the foreign models charts, the Tesla Model Y (+120.2%) dominates with over 4,200 sales and would even rank #10 in the complete models ranking including domestic fares. The Mercedes E-Class (+160.4%) is also in outstanding shape above 3,500 units with the Volvo XC60 (+1114.9%) posting surreal gains and the BMW 3 Series (+83.8%) also showing explosive growth. It’s a more muted result for the Mercedes GLE (-12.4%) down one rank on August to #5. The Audi A6 (+41.5%), BMW iX3 (+16.5%) and 6 Series (+4.2%) also post upticks in the remainder of the Top 10. We welcome the Toyota Alphard (#41) and BMW i7 (#45) inside the Top 50.
Previous month: South Korea August 2023: Hyundai and Grandeur back in charge in stable market
One year ago: South Korea September 2022: Ssangyong Torres up to #4, Hyundai Ioniq 6 in Top 20, sales up 22.6%
Full September 2023 Top 32 All brands, Top 56 All domestic models and Top 50 foreigners below.
South Korea September 2023 – brands:
Note: Tesla doesn’t report sales to KAIDA and therefore doesn’t appear in this ranking.
| Pos | Brand | Sep-23 | % | /22 | Aug | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Hyundai | 45,397 | 35.1% | -4.0% | 1 | 466,850 | 36.3% | 16.7% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 44,415 | 34.4% | 11.0% | 2 | 426,821 | 33.2% | 8.0% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Genesis | 8,514 | 6.6% | -11.7% | 3 | 97,388 | 7.6% | 0.5% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | BMW | 6,188 | 4.8% | -16.4% | 5 | 56,529 | 4.4% | -2.1% | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Mercedes | 6,971 | 5.4% | 27.2% | 4 | 54,376 | 4.2% | -3.0% | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | KG Mobility (ex Ssangyong) | 4,069 | 3.1% | -47.0% | 6 | 50,984 | 4.0% | 4.3% | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | GM Korea | 2,632 | 2.0% | -34.4% | 7 | 29,056 | 2.3% | -0.7% | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Renault Korea | 1,651 | 1.3% | -67.3% | 9 | 17,128 | 1.3% | -56.6% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Audi | 1,416 | 1.1% | -21.9% | 8 | 14,107 | 1.1% | -2.4% | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Volvo | 1,555 | 1.2% | 76.5% | 13 | 12,507 | 1.0% | 32.5% | 10 | 11 |
| 11 | Lexus | 916 | 0.7% | 6.5% | 12 | 10,045 | 0.8% | 104.1% | 11 | 15 |
| 12 | Porsche | 695 | 0.5% | 108.7% | 11 | 8,985 | 0.7% | 43.1% | 12 | 14 |
| 13 | Mini | 738 | 0.6% | -0.9% | 14 | 7,002 | 0.5% | -16.8% | 13 | 12 |
| 14 | Volkswagen | 1,114 | 0.9% | -24.2% | 10 | 6,966 | 0.5% | -30.7% | 14 | 10 |
| 15 | Toyota | 712 | 0.6% | 4.4% | 15 | 6,045 | 0.5% | 24.1% | 15 | 17 |
| 16 | Chevrolet | 563 | 0.4% | -51.5% | 17 | 4,309 | 0.3% | -26.8% | 16 | 13 |
| 17 | Land Rover | 315 | 0.2% | 10.5% | 18 | 4,093 | 0.3% | 98.9% | 17 | 20 |
| 18 | Jeep | 296 | 0.2% | -71.1% | 16 | 3,399 | 0.3% | -35.0% | 18 | 16 |
| 19 | Ford | 181 | 0.1% | -63.2% | 21 | 2,597 | 0.2% | -35.9% | 19 | 18 |
| 20 | Peugeot | 172 | 0.1% | -27.4% | 20 | 1,347 | 0.1% | -5.0% | 20 | 23 |
| 21 | Polestar | 292 | 0.2% | -1.0% | 19 | 1,102 | 0.1% | -49.8% | 21 | 21 |
| 22 | Lincoln | 52 | 0.0% | -73.5% | 25 | 835 | 0.1% | -60.7% | 22 | 22 |
| 23 | Honda | 105 | 0.1% | -60.1% | 22 | 814 | 0.1% | -68.0% | 23 | 19 |
| 24 | Cadillac | 55 | 0.0% | -53.4% | 24 | 677 | 0.1% | 2.0% | 24 | 24 |
| 25 | Bentley | 60 | 0.0% | -31.0% | 23 | 609 | 0.0% | -1.1% | 25 | 25 |
| 26 | GMC | 52 | 0.0% | new | 28 | 395 | 0.0% | new | 26 | – |
| 27 | Maserati | 30 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 26 | 334 | 0.0% | -29.1% | 27 | 26 |
| 28 | Lamborghini | 49 | 0.0% | 40.0% | 27 | 316 | 0.0% | 22.5% | 28 | 27 |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce | 15 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 29 | 227 | 0.0% | 21.4% | 29 | 28 |
| 30 | DS | 18 | 0.0% | 157.1% | 30 | 114 | 0.0% | 70.1% | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Jaguar | 5 | 0.0% | -58.3% | 31 | 42 | 0.0% | -72.2% | 31 | 29 |
| 32 | Citroen | 0 | 0.0% | n/a | – | 0 | 0.0% | -100.0% | 32 | 31 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 106,678 | 82.5% | -6.1% | – | 1,088,227 | 84.6% | 7.8% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 22,565 | 17.5% | -5.7% | – | 197,742 | 15.4% | -1.2% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 129,243 | 100.0% | -6.1% | – | 1,285,984 | 100.0% | 6.3% | – | – |
South Korea September 2023 – domestic models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-23 | /22 | Aug | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Kia Sorento | 10,190 | 91.0% | 2 | 59,602 | 19.9% | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Hyundai Grandeur | 8,159 | 75.7% | 1 | 88,480 | 78.0% | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Hyundai Porter | 5,781 | -32.0% | 3 | 73,789 | 9.9% | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Kia Sportage | 5,402 | 21.6% | 4 | 53,321 | 38.5% | 5 | 7 |
| 5 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 5,139 | 120.8% | 18 | 26,550 | 37.5% | 17 | 21 |
| 6 | Kia Bongo | 4,480 | -15.5% | 8 | 48,362 | -1.1% | 7 | 4 |
| 7 | Kia Seltos | 4,399 | 25.2% | 11 | 39,625 | 23.8% | 8 | 14 |
| 8 | Hyundai Avante | 4,367 | -2.0% | 6 | 49,377 | 26.0% | 6 | 6 |
| 9 | Kia Carnival | 4,366 | 96.0% | 5 | 54,762 | 39.8% | 4 | 5 |
| 10 | Hyundai Casper | 3,705 | -8.1% | 9 | 32,081 | -8.4% | 14 | 10 |
| 11 | Kia Ray | 3,464 | -10.3% | 7 | 37,265 | 13.6% | 9 | 13 |
| 12 | Hyundai Tucson | 3,126 | 27.5% | 13 | 33,519 | 30.1% | 12 | 16 |
| 13 | Hyundai Sonata | 2,947 | -35.7% | 12 | 24,732 | -32.7% | 20 | 9 |
| 14 | Hyundai Palisade | 2,935 | -15.3% | 10 | 33,045 | -10.4% | 13 | 8 |
| 15 | Genesis GV70 | 2,864 | 22.0% | 15 | 25,209 | 21.9% | 19 | 18 |
| 16 | Genesis G80 | 2,819 | -1.5% | 16 | 36,115 | 3.1% | 10 | 11 |
| 17 | Hyundai Staria | 2,633 | -6.4% | 14 | 29,637 | 26.2% | 16 | 15 |
| 18 | Hyundai Kona | 2,501 | 295.7% | 19 | 26,452 | 308.6% | 18 | 38 |
| 19 | Kia K8 | 2,406 | -39.7% | 21 | 33,531 | 1.3% | 11 | 12 |
| 20 | Kia K5 | 2,280 | 10.9% | 20 | 24,641 | 6.2% | 21 | 17 |
| 21 | Kia Morning | 1,892 | -2.5% | 17 | 19,735 | -8.7% | 22 | 20 |
| 22 | Kia Niro | 1,784 | -24.4% | 23 | 18,675 | -22.5% | 24 | 19 |
| 23 | KG Mobility Torres | 1,584 | -66.2% | 25 | 30,394 | 173.6% | 15 | 28 |
| 24 | Genesis GV80 | 1,507 | -1.3% | 24 | 19,664 | 25.2% | 23 | 26 |
| 25 | KG Mobility Rexton Sports | 1,458 | -21.1% | 26 | 12,027 | -42.4% | 28 | 24 |
| 26 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 1,424 | new | 22 | 16,670 | new | 25 | – |
| 27 | Kia EV9 | 1,163 | new | 37 | 4,156 | new | 38 | – |
| 28 | Kia K3 | 1,036 | 23.6% | 27 | 9,491 | -37.5% | 30 | 29 |
| 29 | Renault Korea QM6 | 839 | -71.2% | 32 | 8,289 | -61.5% | 31 | 22 |
| 30 | Genesis G90 | 836 | -62.3% | 29 | 9,960 | -41.0% | 29 | 27 |
| 31 | Hyundai Venue | 771 | 14.6% | 31 | 5,797 | -7.6% | 35 | 37 |
| 32 | KG Mobility Tivoli | 744 | 21.2% | 34 | 5,065 | -47.1% | 36 | 34 |
| 33 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 705 | -70.6% | 28 | 12,620 | -44.2% | 27 | 23 |
| 34 | Renault Korea XM3 | 675 | -60.6% | 35 | 6,997 | -49.6% | 33 | 30 |
| 35 | Kia EV6 | 601 | -73.7% | 30 | 13,874 | -27.6% | 26 | 25 |
| 36 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 558 | -59.5% | 33 | 6,193 | -47.0% | 34 | 31 |
| 37 | Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 397 | -23.8% | 43 | 1,463 | 53.8% | 45 | 48 |
| 38 | Genesis G70 | 384 | 7.0% | 36 | 3,499 | -15.5% | 40 | 40 |
| 39 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 344 | -87.0% | 38 | 8,011 | 201.2% | 32 | 33 |
| 40 | Kia Mohave | 317 | -72.8% | 39 | 4,162 | -55.8% | 37 | 32 |
| 41 | Hyundai Nexo | 237 | -78.1% | 41 | 3,828 | -49.1% | 39 | 36 |
| 42 | Kia K9 | 232 | -10.8% | 40 | 3,213 | -35.6% | 41 | 39 |
| 43 | KG Mobility Rexton | 197 | -43.1% | 42 | 2,331 | -16.3% | 43 | 44 |
| 44 | Renault Korea SM6 | 137 | -56.6% | 44 | 1,774 | -40.5% | 44 | 43 |
| 45 | Genesis GV60 | 104 | -68.7% | 45 | 2,941 | -35.1% | 42 | 41 |
| 46 | Chevrolet Colorado | 91 | -48.9% | 46 | 1,193 | -47.0% | 47 | 45 |
| 47 | KG Mobility Korando | 86 | -52.7% | 47 | 1,167 | -73.5% | 48 | 42 |
| 48 | Chevrolet Traverse | 58 | -67.8% | 48 | 835 | -36.3% | 49 | 47 |
| 49 | Chevrolet Equinox | 45 | -62.5% | 51 | 436 | -43.9% | 51 | 51 |
| 50 | GMC Sierra | 30 | new | 49 | 369 | new | 52 | – |
| 51 | Chevrolet Bolt | 19 | -93.2% | 50 | 212 | -51.5% | 53 | 53 |
| 52 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 9 | -75.7% | 52 | 172 | -46.4% | 54 | 55 |
| 53 | Chevrolet Spark | 0 | -100.0% | – | 1,419 | -84.2% | 46 | 35 |
| 54 | Kia Stinger | 0 | -100.0% | – | 483 | -67.8% | 50 | 46 |
| 55 | Chevrolet Malibu | 0 | -100.0% | – | 78 | -93.9% | 55 | 49 |
| 56 | Renault Korea Master | 0 | -100.0% | – | 68 | -88.4% | 56 | 52 |
South Korea September 2023 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-23 | /22 | Aug | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 4,206 | 120.2% | 12 | 6,730 | 10.8% | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Mercedes E Class | 3,510 | 160.4% | 2 | 15,539 | -23.7% | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Volvo XC60 | 899 | 1114.9% | 28 | 4,062 | 97.0% | 12 | 32 |
| 4 | BMW 3 Series | 842 | 83.8% | 10 | 4,724 | -14.1% | 9 | 9 |
| 5 | Mercedes GLE | 693 | -12.4% | 4 | 4,909 | 2.9% | 8 | 8 |
| 6 | Audi A6 | 569 | 41.5% | 6 | 6,339 | 20.8% | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | BMW 6 Series | 550 | 4.2% | 11 | 4,557 | 42.6% | 10 | 19 |
| 8 | BMW X5 | 467 | -29.5% | 16 | 3,798 | -27.9% | 14 | 5 |
| 9 | BMW iX3 | 467 | 16.5% | 15 | 2,047 | 67.0% | 26 | 39 |
| 10 | Lexus ES | 465 | -7.9% | 7 | 6,087 | 89.6% | 6 | 15 |
| 11 | BMW 5 Series | 459 | -75.8% | 1 | 16,058 | 11.4% | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Mercedes S Class | 454 | -40.0% | 5 | 8,470 | -21.5% | 3 | 3 |
| 13 | VW Tiguan | 405 | -31.8% | 9 | 3,358 | 8.3% | 17 | 11 |
| 14 | Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 397 | -23.8% | 38 | 1,463 | 53.8% | 35 | 44 |
| 15 | BMW 7 Series | 368 | 21.9% | 13 | 2,354 | -8.7% | 22 | 26 |
| 16 | Mercedes GLC | 348 | -27.8% | 3 | 5,018 | 38.1% | 7 | 13 |
| 17 | Mercedes C Class | 346 | 1341.7% | 8 | 3,768 | 72.8% | 16 | 21 |
| 18 | BMW X4 | 318 | -58.5% | 17 | 4,273 | 17.8% | 11 | 14 |
| 19 | BMW i4 | 317 | 75.1% | 33 | 2,010 | 37.7% | 27 | 35 |
| 20 | BMW X3 | 299 | -23.3% | 19 | 3,901 | -14.9% | 13 | 10 |
| 21 | BMW X7 | 292 | -40.9% | 14 | 2,687 | -31.3% | 19 | 18 |
| 22 | Polestar 2 | 292 | -1.0% | 40 | 1,102 | -49.8% | 45 | 29 |
| 23 | BMW X6 | 277 | -45.8% | 29 | 2,712 | -26.2% | 18 | 16 |
| 24 | Mercedes EQE | 242 | 142.0% | 18 | 2,276 | 2131.4% | 24 | n/a |
| 25 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 236 | -23.9% | 21 | 2,620 | -22.9% | 20 | 17 |
| 26 | BMW 1 Series | 228 | 54.1% | n/a | 993 | -36.8% | 52 | 48 |
| 27 | Mercedes GLB | 227 | 5.1% | 31 | 1,686 | -23.3% | 32 | 24 |
| 28 | Toyota RAV4 | 224 | -34.1% | 22 | 2,159 | 28.1% | 25 | 31 |
| 29 | Lexus NX | 223 | -2.6% | 30 | 2,344 | 206.8% | 23 | n/a |
| 30 | VW ID.4 | 222 | -66.7% | 24 | 611 | -9.2% | 66 | n/a |
| 31 | Mercedes CLS | 221 | 108.5% | 25 | 1,990 | -17.2% | 28 | 22 |
| 32 | Mini Countryman | 221 | -9.1% | 20 | 1,961 | 7.2% | 29 | 27 |
| 33 | Mercedes EQS | 207 | -36.1% | n/a | 1,400 | 31.6% | 37 | 47 |
| 34 | Tesla Model X | 207 | n/a | n/a | 1,219 | n/a | 42 | n/a |
| 35 | Mini Clubman | 205 | 47.5% | 34 | 1,418 | -24.5% | 36 | 34 |
| 36 | VW Golf | 198 | 1700.0% | n/a | 1,015 | 37.2% | 50 | n/a |
| 37 | Volvo S60 | 193 | 175.7% | n/a | 1,226 | 176.1% | 41 | n/a |
| 38 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 193 | -69.1% | 47 | 375 | -39.9% | 73 | 43 |
| 39 | Mercedes AMG GT | 192 | 1376.9% | 41 | 999 | 11.5% | 51 | n/a |
| 40 | BMW X1 | 189 | 1790.0% | n/a | 813 | -64.2% | 62 | 37 |
| 41 | Toyota Alphard | 180 | new | n/a | 198 | new | 82 | – |
| 42 | Mercedes EQB | 174 | 38.1% | n/a | 1,370 | 508.9% | 38 | n/a |
| 43 | BMW 2 Series Active Tourer | 172 | n/a | n/a | 661 | n/a | 64 | n/a |
| 44 | Porsche Panamera | 171 | 228.8% | 23 | 1,578 | 59.4% | 33 | n/a |
| 45 | BMW i7 | 165 | new | n/a | 487 | new | 70 | – |
| 46 | Volvo S90 | 158 | -49.8% | 26 | 2,439 | -1.8% | 21 | 12 |
| 47 | Lexus RX | 153 | 173.2% | 49 | 909 | 271.0% | 56 | n/a |
| 48 | Audi Q5 | 152 | 3.4% | n/a | 1,235 | -23.6% | 40 | 40 |
| 49 | Porsche Cayenne | 144 | 20.0% | 27 | 3,796 | 65.0% | 15 | 20 |
| 50 | BMW 4 Series | 138 | -22.5% | n/a | 850 | -11.9% | 60 | n/a |
Source: KAIDA, Manufacturers
