This year, Korea's imported electric vehicle market is enjoying an unprecedented boom, powered by Tesla's dominance and fierce pursuit from major brands. Leading brands have either met their annual sales targets early or sharply raised them to keep up with demand. With high oil prices persisting and expectations for Autonomous Driving technology building, observers say the momentum will likely continue into next year.
According to the imported car industry on the 4th, Swedish electric vehicle brand Polestar is reviewing a 25% hike in this year's sales target, from the original 4,000 units to 5,000. The initial goal itself was aggressive, aiming for 35% growth from last year's 2,957 units, but with this year's EV demand far outpacing expectations, the target has been raised again.
Polestar sold 2,950 units through August, achieving 74% of its original target and closing in on last year's full-year total. A Polestar official said the company is "working to shorten the average three-month customer wait time."
Several brands have already exceeded their annual EV targets or are on track. BYD pledged to sell 10,000 units this year, but according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), it had already sold a cumulative 17,523 units by August, far surpassing the goal. A BYD Korea official said, "We have not set an additional target, but our policy is to respond to market demand as much as possible."
Volvo Cars set a sales target of 500 units this year for its midsize electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) "EX90," and with 79 units sold in its first month of deliveries on Aug., it expects to meet the annual goal without difficulty. Volvo set next year's EX90 sales target at 2,000 units, four times this year's.
In fact, the imported EV market continues to grow steeply, led by Tesla. Cumulative sales from January to August this year reached 114,401 units, up 114.0% from a year earlier. Of these, 76,776 units, or 67%, were Tesla's, up 122.3% from the same period a year ago. BYD (800.0%) and Polestar (58.1%) also posted standout growth rates, and sales of each brand's EV lineup, including BMW's midsize electric SUV "The New iX3," are steadily increasing.
Industry officials expect the heat in the imported EV market to continue for the time being. An imported car industry official said, "The shift in consumer demand from internal combustion to electric vehicles is clear," and added, "Once consumers experience an EV, they tend not to return to internal combustion, and with new demand driven by high oil prices, we are drawing up strategies on the assumption that solid demand will persist this year and into next year."
In particular, Tesla, which has led the market, is widely expected to maintain steady growth next year. Tesla's year-over-year monthly growth rate stayed in triple digits through April (811.5%) before easing to 30.4% last month. However, an imported car industry official said, "It is hard to say Tesla's growth has stalled," adding, "Tesla's dominance is driven by price competitiveness and expectations for Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, and neither factor is likely to disappear in the short term."
However, the expansion of non-Tesla players also appears set to be a key watch point next year. According to a "Korea imported EV market outlook" commissioned by an imported car company to a global market research firm recently, next year's forecast is 85,757 units for Tesla and 54,245 units for non-Tesla brands. Compared with this year's outlook, Tesla would decline 15.9%, while non-Tesla brands would increase 26.3%. Total imported EV sales are projected to surge 46.2% year over year to 144,871 units this year, then ease 3.4% to 142,000 units next year, entering a breather.