Electric cars have swallowed diesel. In the import car market, electric vehicle sales surged by 72% compared to the previous year, making it the third-largest sales category by powertrain. In monthly sales by import car brands, Mercedes-Benz surpassed BMW, narrowing the cumulative sales gap.

The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association announced that the number of new registrations for imported cars in August was 23,350 units, a 10.5% increase from July’s 21,150 units but down 2.1% from last year’s 23,850 units.

The growth of electric vehicle sales was the most remarkable among powertrain types. Electric vehicles increased to 2,926 units, up 72.2% from the previous year’s 1,699 units. Hybrids totaled 7,475 units, representing a 32% increase from last year’s 5,664 units. In contrast, gasoline cars decreased to 10,014 units, down 20% from last year’s 12,649 units, while diesel saw a decline to 2,035 units, a 28% drop from 2,859 units last year. The sales sequence of gasoline, hybrid, and diesel has shifted to gasoline, hybrid, and electric, significantly raising the profile of electric vehicles in the imported car market.

The consecutive launch of electrified models by import car companies has led to a reduction in the sales of purely internal combustion engines, while increasing sales of pure electric and hybrid models.

Among registration numbers by engine displacement, those below 2,000cc accounted for 12,090 units (51.8%), indicating that over half of import car buyers preferred compact models with lower maintenance costs.

By country, European cars topped the list with 20,064 units (85.9%), reflecting the strong preference of new import car buyers for European automobiles.

In brand-specific sales, Mercedes-Benz surpassed BMW. Mercedes-Benz recorded 6,588 units, up 22% from 5,394 units the previous month, while BMW achieved 6,304 units, a slight increase of 6.3% from 5,931 units in the previous month.

The reversal in August sales figures between Mercedes-Benz and BMW has significantly narrowed the gap, with BMW at 50,341 units and Mercedes-Benz at 47,405 units, closing to within 3,000 units.

Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr