Volvo overtakes Volkswagen in imported car sales in S. Korea

Volvo has overtaken Volkswagen to claim the fourth spot, while new players such as Lexus and Porsche are competing for fifth place in sales of imported cars in South Korea.

According to the Korea Association of Imported Automobile Manufacturers (KAIDA), the top five imported vehicle sales for the first quarter of this year were BMW with 18,134 units, Mercedes-Benz with 14,952 units, Audi with 6,914 units, and Volvo with 3,990 units.

Tesla was not included in the study.

Volkswagen traditionally held the fourth position but dropped out of the top ten this year with its first-quarter sales plummeting to 1,165 units after halting shipments in January over a defective safety triangle.

Meanwhile, Lexus, climbed to fifth place with sales of 3,296 units, marking a 114% on-year increase attributed to the recovery of Korea-Japan relations.

Porsche sold 2,966 units to take the sixth spot.

Toyota, Mini, Land Rover, and Ford were the next four brands on the list, with sales ranging from 1,237 to 1,745 units.

The import sales ranking for this year is expected to be different from previous years, with Benz and BMW competing for the top spot, as the availability of a variety of brands has lowered the barriers to entry in the import market, diversifying consumers’ choices.