The 5 Series is back, July import sales revealed

The Korea Association of Imported Automobiles (KAIDA) has released statistics on domestic imported car sales for July and the first half of 2024. The number of new registrations was 21,977 units. This is down 13.11 TP3T from the previous month's figure of 25,300 units. Cumulative registrations for the first seven months of the year totalled 147,629 units, down 2.81 TP3T from sales of 151,827 units in the same period last year.

[Table 1. Sales by model].

The BMW 5 Series (1,645 units) was once again the best-selling import car in the month. Its rival, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (1,505 units), was only 140 units behind in third place. In second place was Tesla's Model Y (1,623 units). The Model 3 was a respectable fourth with 1,055 units.

The 6 Series (680 units) is the most popular model with a report card of 1,000 units or less. It is followed by the X5 (675) and Volvo XC60 (596). The GLC (572 units), Lexus ES (526 units), and CLE (443 units) round out the top 10. Particularly noteworthy is the 6-Series' retention of its position as a non-mainstream model and the chart entry of the CLE, a two-door coupé.

[Table 2. Sales by manufacturer].

Sales by manufacturer were also a victory for BMW (6,380 units). This is an increase of almost 200 units from the previous month, while Mercedes-Benz (4,369 units) is down by almost 2,300 units. In third place is Tesla (2,680 units), which continues to sell well. Volvo (1,411 units) and Lexus (1,108 units) retain their previous positions, while Porsche surges to sixth place with 1,012 units.

[Table 3. Sales by fuel].

Finally, here are the sales statistics by fuel. Hybrids (47.9%) are the top selling fuel. Major manufacturers are adding mild hybrid systems to their petrol models, but KAIDA's inclusion of mild hybrids in the hybrid category accounts for nearly half of the share. In second and third place are petrol (24.41 TP3T) and electric (20.91 TP3T). It is impressive that the share of electric vehicles has more than doubled from July last year.

Tesla leads the way in electric vehicle sales. 2,678 of the 4,586 units are Model T and Model 3s, and even if you add up the sales of the third to tenth place imported EVs, they don't beat the Model Y's performance. Despite the overall decline in EV sales, Tesla doesn't seem to be fazed.

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Photo by each manufacturer