Korean Autos Market in the 2017 slipped 1.7%, due to a slow first half, scoring the third performance all-time. Propelled by booming economy, the 2018 outlook is positive. Importers share at 13.1%, with Mercedes & BMW fight for leadership.
South Korean economic performance was exceptional in Q3. Growth came in at 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year—the fastest pace in nearly four years and higher than the 2.7% growth recorded for Q2. Data for November suggests strong growth for Q4: Consumer confidence hit a seven-year high, with consumers particularly confident about domestic economic conditions, and growth in exports gathered pace. On 5 December, parliament approved the government’s budget for the 2018 fiscal year, which includes a 4.6% increase in spending compared to the previous year.
South Korean vehicles market has been closed to foreign vehicles import until the recent (2012) FTA with EU. The entrance of many new competitors fueled the market growth in these years and the all time record sales had been established in three years in a row, with 2016 above 1.8 million units. According to data released by KAMA and KAIDA, in the 2017 the market was penalized by a slow start of the year and the second half recovery was not enough to break a new record again, with light vehicles sales ended at 1.814.399 units, down 1.1%, the third best performance ever. 2018 Outlook is quit positive and market is projected at the new record.
| Sales 2012 | Sales 2013 | Sales 2014 | Sales 2015 | Sales 2016 | Sales 2017 | Sales 2018 e | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car+LCV | 1.532.014 | 1.531.572 | 1.613.323 | 1.824.288 | 1.834.784 | 1.814.399 | 1.912.748 |
| 2012 Var | 2013 Var | 2014 Var | 2015 Var | 2016 Var | 2017 Var | 2018 var e | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car+LCV | 5,5% | 0,0% | 5,3% | 13,1% | 0,6% | -1,1% | 5,4% |
Brand-wise, Hyundai holds 36.7% of market share, selling 666.639 units (+1.8%). Kia is following with 521.550 units (-2.5%) and 28.7% of market share.
In third place GM Korea (Chevrolet in the table) with 132.377 units (-27.3%) followed by SsangYong with 106.677 units (+3.0%), Renault Samsung with 100.536 (-9.5%), Mercedes with 68.661 sales (+21.9%) and BMW with 59.624 (+21.9%).
At model-wise, the leader is the Hyundai Grandeur with 132.080 sales (+92.2%) followed by the Hyundai Avante with 83.861 (-10.2%) and the Hyundai Sonata with 82.703 (+0.6%).
Top 100 models ranking updates are available here.
Research, Consulting, Data & Forecast
F2M covers intensively this market with several products developed to help any investigation required. Market Researches in PDF are immediately available for download with study on the market since 2005 and with forecast up to the 2022. AutoData in EXCEL are immediately downloadable with annual sales volume, split by month, for all brands and all models distributed in the market. This year data are released year to date, but you will receive a monthly update until the year-end. See details within South Korea Corner Store.
| Rank 2017 | Ran Dec | Brand | Sales 2017 | Sales Dec | Variation 2017 | Variation Dec | Share 2017 | Share Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hyundai | 666.639 | 47.841 | 1,8% | -32,7% | 37,4% | 31,3% |
| 2 | 2 | Kia | 521.550 | 46.502 | -2,5% | -6,2% | 29,2% | 30,4% |
| 3 | 3 | Chevrolet | 132.377 | 11.852 | -27,3% | -35,3% | 7,4% | 7,8% |
| 4 | 4 | SsangYong | 106.677 | 10.647 | 3,0% | -0,5% | 6,0% | 7,0% |
| 5 | 5 | Renault Samsung | 100.536 | 9.953 | -9,5% | -29,3% | 5,6% | 6,5% |
| 6 | 8 | Mercedes | 68.661 | 3.959 | 21,9% | -29,6% | 3,8% | 2,6% |
| 7 | 6 | BMW | 59.624 | 6.807 | 23,0% | 16,7% | 3,3% | 4,5% |
| 8 | 7 | Genesis | 23.704 | 5.520 | 1,6% | 424,7% | 1,3% | 3,6% |
| 9 | 10 | Lexus | 12.603 | 1.309 | 19,0% | -8,1% | 0,7% | 0,9% |
| 10 | 12 | Toyota | 11.698 | 1.038 | 26,3% | 6,9% | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| 11 | 9 | Land Rover | 10.770 | 1.453 | 1,6% | 51,0% | 0,6% | 1,0% |
| 12 | 13 | Ford | 10.727 | 887 | 11,8% | -2,4% | 0,6% | 0,6% |
| 13 | 15 | Honda | 10.299 | 566 | 55,2% | 17,4% | 0,6% | 0,4% |
| 14 | 11 | Mini | 9.562 | 1.186 | 10,8% | 96,4% | 0,5% | 0,8% |
| 15 | 14 | Chrysler | 7.284 | 760 | 740,1% | 256,8% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 16 | 22 | Volvo | 6.604 | 187 | 26,9% | -59,9% | 0,4% | 0,1% |
| 17 | 16 | Nissan | 6.285 | 458 | 9,6% | -13,1% | 0,4% | 0,3% |
| 18 | 18 | Jaguar | 4.125 | 404 | 8,6% | -20,2% | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 19 | 17 | Peugeot | 3.697 | 406 | 2,1% | 89,7% | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 20 | 19 | Porsche | 2.789 | 349 | -12,5% | 245,5% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 21 | 21 | Infiniti | 2.697 | 243 | -15,7% | 53,8% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 22 | 20 | Cadillac | 2.008 | 281 | 152,9% | 114,5% | 0,1% | 0,2% |
| 23 | 23 | Citroen | 1.174 | 72 | 34,0% | -57,9% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 24 | Fiat | 980 | 48,9% | -100,0% | 0,1% | 0,0% | ||
| 25 | 25 | Audi | 962 | 10 | -94,2% | -95,8% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 26 | 24 | Bentley | 259 | 44 | 52,4% | 4300,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 27 | 26 | Rolls-Royce | 86 | 7 | 62,3% | 40,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 28 | Lamborghini | 22 | 10,0% | -100,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Rank 2017 | Ran Dec | Group | Sales 2017 | Sales Dec | Variation 2017 | Variation Dec | Share 2017 | Share Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Volkswagen Group | 31.784 | 101 | -5,9% | 573,3% | 24,2% | 44,3% |
| 2 | 6 | Renault Nissan Alliance | 22.978 | 9 | -10,2% | 50,0% | 17,5% | 3,9% |
| 3 | 3 | Hyundai-Kia | 19.049 | 21 | -14,0% | 133,3% | 14,5% | 9,2% |
| 4 | 4 | Toyota M.C. | 13.127 | 15 | -18,6% | -93,9% | 10,0% | 6,6% |
| 5 | 2 | Ford M.C. | 12.243 | 32 | -16,2% | 128,6% | 9,3% | 14,0% |
| 6 | 6 | P.S.A. | 11.744 | 9 | -12,5% | -85,7% | 8,9% | 3,9% |
| 7 | 5 | BMW | 5.276 | 13 | -16,1% | 160,0% | 4,0% | 5,7% |
| 8 | 9 | Mercedes Benz | 4.838 | 4 | 27,6% | 33,3% | 3,7% | 1,8% |
| 9 | 9 | Mazda | 2.678 | 4 | -11,1% | 0,0% | 2,0% | 1,8% |
| 10 | 8 | Tata | 1.874 | 5 | 8,7% | 400,0% | 1,4% | 2,2% |
| Rank 2017 | Rank Dec | Model | Sales 2017 | Sales Dec | Variation 2017 | Variation Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hyundai Grandeur | 132.080 | 9.080 | 92,2% | -47,4% |
| 2 | 2 | HYUNDAI AVANTE | 83.861 | 6.848 | -10,6% | -12,2% |
| 3 | 4 | Hyundai Sonata | 82.703 | 6.319 | 0,6% | -12,9% |
| 4 | 3 | Kia Sorento | 78.458 | 6.750 | -2,8% | -7,4% |
| 5 | 5 | Kia Morning | 70.437 | 5.781 | -6,3% | -29,6% |
| 6 | 6 | Kia Carnival | 68.386 | 5.039 | 3,7% | -12,8% |
| 7 | 7 | Ssangyong Tivoli | 55.280 | 4.885 | -2,9% | -13,0% |
| 8 | 10 | Hyundai Santa fe | 51.661 | 4.142 | -32,8% | -51,4% |
| 9 | 8 | Chevrolet Spark | 47.244 | 4.618 | -39,4% | -33,8% |
| 10 | 13 | Kia K7 | 46.578 | 3.666 | -16,9% | -29,0% |
| 11 | 12 | Hyundai Tucson | 46.416 | 3.888 | -11,3% | -29,6% |
| 12 | 9 | Kia Sportage | 42.232 | 4.480 | -15,3% | 17,8% |
| 13 | 15 | Genesis G80 | 39.762 | 3.092 | ||
| 14 | 18 | Samsung SM6 | 39.389 | 3.033 | -31,5% | -53,9% |
| 15 | 14 | Kia K5 | 38.184 | 3.357 | -14,5% | -1,0% |
| 16 | 20 | Chevrolet Malibu | 33.325 | 2.652 | -9,1% | -36,2% |
| 17 | 25 | Mercedes E Class | 31.566 | 2.120 | 71,1% | 253,3% |
| 18 | 23 | Kia K3 | 28.165 | 2.344 | -23,6% | -33,8% |
| 19 | 17 | Samsung QM6 | 27.837 | 3.049 | 97,1% | -15,1% |
| 20 | 19 | Kia Niro | 23.647 | 2.926 | 26,4% | 79,6% |
| 21 | 21 | Hyundai Kona | 23.522 | 2.618 | ||
| 22 | 22 | SsangYong Korando Sports | 22.912 | 2.353 | -12,4% | -13,1% |
| 23 | 16 | Kia Ray | 20.521 | 3.068 | 3,9% | 121,8% |
| 24 | 11 | BMW 5 Series | 19.595 | 4.087 | 40,7% | 178,6% |
| 25 | 28 | Chevrolet Trax | 16.549 | 1.548 | 18,3% | -40,5% |
| 26 | 24 | SsangYong G4 Rexton | 16.381 | 2.233 | ||
| 27 | 34 | Kia Mohave | 15.205 | 985 | 1,0% | -45,4% |
| 28 | 38 | Genesis EQ900 | 12.300 | 809 | -47,3% | -23,1% |
| 29 | 30 | Samsung QM3 | 12.228 | 1.211 | -20,0% | -39,3% |
| 30 | 29 | BMW 3 Series | 11.091 | 1.240 | 7,4% | -23,9% |
