BMW claims the throne of the import car market after 8 years, narrowly defeating Mercedes-Benz by over 700 units.
The intense battle in the 2023 import car market between BMW and Mercedes-Benz ended with BMW emerging victorious.
The Korea Imported Car Association reported that the total number of new registrations for imported cars in 2023 was 271,034, down 4.4% from last year’s 283,435.
BMW sold 77,395 units, while Mercedes-Benz sold 76,697 units, a difference of 698. BMW’s sales decreased by 1.5% compared to the previous year’s 78,545 units, while Mercedes-Benz saw a 5.3% reduction from last year’s 80,976 units.
In 2023, the number of registrations by engine size showed that vehicles under 2,000 cc accounted for 143,159 units (52.8%), indicating that over half of import car buyers preferred compact models that incur lower maintenance costs. In terms of sales by country, European models accounted for 230,972 units (85.2%), underscoring the strong preference for European cars among import car buyers.
Regarding fuel types, gasoline models reached 119,632 units (44.1%), meaning nearly half of new import car buyers opted for gasoline vehicles.
The most sold model in the 2023 import car market was not the BMW 5 Series, but the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The E-Class sold a total of 23,642 units, surpassing the 21,411 units sold of the BMW 5 Series, thus retaining its title as the best-selling model from the previous year.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr