From January to November this year, domestic electric vehicle sales reached 207,119 units, up 52.2% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said on the 21st. That is a record high. It also surpassed the full-year figure for 2023, the previous record on an annual basis, of 158,000 units.
In particular, domestic sales by U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla jumped 95% from a year earlier. Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD, which entered Korea for the first time this year, sold 4,955 units through November. Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar sold 2,884 units, more than five times last year's tally.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) released the "automobile industry trends" on this day. In recent years, annual domestic electric vehicle sales were ▲ 157,000 units in 2022 ▲ 158,000 units in 2023 ▲ 142,000 units in 2024, slowing before surging this year. The increase reflects steady government electric vehicle purchase subsidies and new model launches by major makers.
Because the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) does not disclose model-by-model sales by corporations, it is not possible to know how many electric vehicles each maker sold. Instead, it releases domestic sales for makers that primarily sell electric vehicles. From these figures, it is possible to infer which makers benefited from this year's increase in electric vehicle sales.
◇ Tesla accounted for 38% of this year's increase in domestic EV sales
This year's domestic electric vehicle sales increased by 71,069 units from a year earlier. Roughly 38% of that is estimated to be Tesla vehicles. Tesla sold 55,594 units in Korea this year, up 95.1% (27,096 units) from a year earlier.
BYD, which made a full-fledged entry into Korea this year, sold 4,955 units. Polestar's sales surged more than fivefold from 480 last year to 2,884 this year. Its growth rate (500.8%) was the highest among all makers.
Including electric vehicles, domestic auto sales from January to November totaled 1,535,232 units, up 3.5% from a year earlier. Imports led the increase, with 294,828 units sold, up 15%. Over the same period, domestic-brand sales edged up 1.1% to 1,240,404 units.
The top-selling model in the domestic market was the Kia Sorento (90,526 units). It was followed by the Hyundai Avante (72,558 units), the Kia Carnival (72,289 units), and the Kia Sportage (66,611 units).
◇ Annual auto exports expected to hit a record high this year, but shipment volume down
Cumulative auto exports from January to November totaled $66.039 billion, up 2% from a year earlier, a record high. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said full-year exports are expected to surpass the previous record high of $70.9 billion in 2023.
By region, exports to North America fell 11.7% to $32.542 billion. In contrast, exports to the European Union (EU) rose 19.7% to $8.817 billion, and to Asia rose 38.3% to $7.377 billion. In the rest of Europe, they increased 33.6% to $5.862 billion.
The top export model was the Chevrolet Trax (263,839 units). It was followed by the Hyundai Kona (217,397 units), the Hyundai Avante (174,550 units), and the Kia Sportage (136,592 units).
However, export volume fell 1.6% to 2,491,430 units. Hyundai Motor's exports slipped 2.1% to 1,051,004 units. Kia's exports rose 3.1% to 946,357 units. GM Korea's exports fell 6.5% to 395,894 units.