260,705 Imported Passenger cars newly registered in 2018

[2019. 01. 04] The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) announced that the number of newly registered imported Passenger cars in December 2018 was 20,450, 8.7 percent down from November, pushing the annual total for 2018 to 260,705. This represents an 11.8 percent increase from 233,088 cars recorded in 2017.

By brand, Mercedes-Benz had the most number of new registrations with 70,798 units, followed by BMW (50,524 units), Toyota (16,774 units), Volkswagen (15,390 units), Lexus (13,340 units) Audi (12,450 units), Land Rover (11,772 units), Ford/Lincoln (11,586 units), MINI (9,191 units), Volvo (8,524 units), Honda (7,956 units), Chrysler/Jeep (7,590 units), Nissan (5,053 units), Peugeot (4,478 units), Porsche (4,285 units), Jaguar (3,701 units), Infiniti (2,130 units), Cadillac (2,101 units), Maserati (1,660 units), Citroen (1,053 units), Bentley (215 units), Rolls-Royce (123 units), and Lamborghini (11 units).

In terms of engine displacement, 167,174 units (64.1%) in sub-2.0L cars, 77,586 units (29.8%) in 2.0-3.0L engine cars, 13,193 units (5.1%) in 3.0-4.0L cars, 2,561 units (1.0%) in 4.0L or larger cars, and 191 units (0.1%) in other categories (electric car). By country of origin, Europe topped the list with 194,175, taking up 74.5 percent, followed by Japan with 45,253 (17.4%) and the U.S. with 21,277 (8.2%). By fuel type, gasoline models led the market with 123,273 (47.3%), followed by diesel models with 106,881 (41.0%), hybrid models with 30,360 (11.6%) and electric models with 191 (0.1%).

By type of purchase, out of 260,705 newly registered imported cars, individual purchases outscored corporate purchases, with 166,271 units (63.8%) as opposed to 94,434 units (36.2%). Of the individual registrations, 50,997 units (30.7%) were registered in Gyeonggi, 38,972 units (23.4%) in Seoul and 10,328 units (6.2%) in Busan. Of corporate registrations, 33,755 units (35.7%) were registered in Incheon, 21,589 units (22.9%) in Busan, and 13,900 units (14.7%) in Daegu.

The best-selling models in 2018 were Mercedes-Benz E 300 4MATIC which topped the list with 9,141 units, followed by Lexus ES300h (8,803 units), and Mercedes-Benz E 300 (8,726 units).

“The import car market in 2018 grew from 2017 thanks to the resumption of Audi and Volkswagen sales,” said Dae-sung Yoon, vice-chairman of KAIDA.