The sales of luxury cars have plummeted.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class saw a drop to 3,831 units by April this year, down 28% from 5,391 units during the same period last year. The BMW 7 Series, despite a new model launch at the end of last year, recorded only 609 units sold as of April this year, a decline of 27.5% from 840 units last year. Rolls-Royce also fell slightly to 77 units, down from 79 units last year. Lamborghini reported 85 units, a modest increase of 2.4% compared to 83 units the previous year; however, its main-selling model, the Urus, dropped sharply to 43 units from last year’s 62, marking a 30% decline.
An industry insider explained, “Due to the economic downturn, even the wealthy are closing their wallets.” The high-interest rates in the U.S. have led to a surge in domestic rates, causing customers looking to purchase imported cars to postpone their decisions.
Currently, the interest rates for Mercedes-Benz finance are at a maximum of 10.08%, while BMW finance is set at 11.37%. For customers buying high-priced imported vehicles, the burden of monthly payment plans with interest rates of 10% to 11% makes it a challenging situation.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr