Following domestic vehicles, the imported car market has also faced a significant decline of nearly half compared to the previous month, marking a challenging start to the new year.
The Korean Imported Automobile Association reported that 16,222 new imported vehicles were registered in January 2023. This represents a staggering 45.3% drop from December 2022, which had sales of 29,640 units.
The top-selling brand for January was BMW, with 6,089 units sold, down 10.9% from the previous month’s 6,832 units. Mercedes-Benz, which had sold 9,451 units last month, saw a sharp decline with only 2,900 units sold, dropping 69.3%. Audi sold 2,454 units, a decrease of 7% from the previous month, and is now closely pursuing Mercedes-Benz.
By engine size, 9,962 units (61.4%) were below 2,000cc, while by region, European imports accounted for 14,328 units (88.3%), and by fuel type, gasoline vehicles led with 9,659 units (59.5%). The best-selling model in January was the BMW 5 Series, with 2,130 units sold, followed by the Audi A6 (1,496 units) and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (945 units).
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr