Mercedes-Benz ranked second in South Korea’s October imported passenger-car registrations, behind Tesla and ahead of BMW; BMW remained ahead of Mercedes-Benz in cumulative registrations over January–October.
The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) counted 31,117 imported passenger-car registrations in October, 29.3% more than a year earlier and 10.8% fewer than in September. Mercedes-Benz recorded 6,744 registrations, up 23.1% from September and 15.5% from October 2025. Tesla led with 9,165, and BMW recorded 5,633.
Tesla’s Model Y Premium had 5,501 registrations, while the Model 3 had 2,199. The Mercedes-Benz E 200 recorded 2,836, and E-Class registrations totaled 3,669. Volvo ranked fourth among brands with 1,682 registrations, followed by BYD at 1,594 and Lexus at 1,346, KAIDA figures showed.
From January through October, BMW recorded 63,562 registrations, compared with 49,993 for Mercedes-Benz. Tesla’s total reached 98,313, up 105% from the same period a year earlier. The market’s year-to-date total was 310,846, exceeding the 307,377 imported passenger cars registered in all of 2025.
Imported electric vehicles accounted for 14,424 October registrations, or 46.4% of the total; hybrids represented 45.9%, according to KAIDA.
The Korea Herald reported that October’s Mercedes-Benz result coincided with new-model sales and the April launch of Mercedes-Benz Korea’s Retail of the Future program. The outlet said the Korean unit sets prices and manages inventory under the program, while 11 official partners sell vehicles on uniform terms.
