Through February this year, new registrations of imported passenger cars by individual buyers in Korea topped 30,000. In particular, U.S. electric-vehicle maker Tesla recorded the highest sales among imported brands, helped by new models and price cuts.
On the 22nd, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), 30,517 imported passenger cars for individual buyers were newly registered in January and February this year. This was found to be the first time since tracking began that new registrations surpassed 30,000 by February at the fastest pace.
The best-selling imported brand was found to be Tesla, the U.S. electric-vehicle maker. Tesla sold 7,065 units through February. That is more than triple the 1,919 units in the same period a year earlier. It was followed by BMW (6,786 units), Mercedes-Benz (5,905 units), Lexus (2,019 units) and BYD (1,967 units).
Tesla's sales surge is seen as the result of new-model effects, price cuts and a preference for EVs amid rising oil prices.
In April last year, Tesla launched Juniper, a facelifted version of the Model Y, a midsize sport-utility vehicle (SUV), in the Korean market. After that, at the end of last year and early this year, it successively lowered prices for its main models, including the Model Y and Model 3. Because domestic EV subsidies are set at the start of the year, demand for new imported cars through February this year was concentrated on Tesla.
Demand for eco-friendly cars also rose markedly. Through February this year, new registrations of EVs reached 10,934, more than triple the year-earlier 3,133, while sales of internal-combustion cars came to 3,307, up 11.9%. Hybrid sales increased by about 2,000 to 16,276.
Purchases of imported cars increased across all age groups. In particular, people in their 40s bought 10,210 vehicles, accounting for the largest share among all age groups. They were followed by those in their 30s (7,628) and those in their 50s (7,237).