E-Class reverses fortunes, April import sales revealed

The Korea Association of Imported Automobile Dealers (KAIDA) has released the sales figures for imported cars in Korea last month. The total number of units sold was 21,560, a decrease of 3,703 (14.71 TP3T) from March. The interesting part is the change in the ranking of the top three best-selling cars. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which has been absent from the monthly sales rankings for some time, has made a full-fledged comeback.

[Table 1. Sales by model].

The best-selling car in April 2024 was the E-Class. After a cumulative sales total of 2,108 units from January to March, it quickly moved up to third place with 2,081 units delivered in April alone, proving that the sub-1,000 units per month it had been selling was not a problem. In second place is the recently refreshed Tesla Model 3 (1,716 units). The BMW 5 Series followed in third place with 1,556 units.

In addition to the E-Class, other key Mercedes-Benz models rounded out the top 10. The C-Class (951 units) and GLE (417 units), which also topped the charts last month, were joined by the GLC (600 units) and S-Class (547 units). BMW, on the other hand, saw its SUV models, including the X3 and X5, slip down the rankings. The Cayenne and XC60 also cede ground, while the 7 Series sneaks into the top 10.

[Table 2. Sales by manufacturer].

Here are the sales by manufacturer. The list of manufacturers in the top 10 remains the same, although the rankings have changed. Mercedes-Benz regains the top spot thanks to the E-Class rebound, followed by BMW and Tesla. Volvo (1,210 units) and Lexus (920 units) remain firmly in the fourth and fifth positions. Toyota (893 units), Audi (770 units), MINI (676 units), Porsche (620 units) and Volkswagen (566 units) round out the list.

[Table 3. Sales by fuel].

It's also worth looking at the registration statistics by fuel. Hybrid models (including mild hybrids) again exceeded 501 TP3T, proving their popularity (39.51 TP3T in March). Conversely, EVs saw their share drop from 32.6 to 16.81 TP3T as sales fell from 8,242 to 3,626 units. Otherwise, petrol, diesel and PHEVs maintained similar shares.

EV sales follow Tesla's lead. After topping the EV sales rankings in March with the Model Y (5,934 units), the company returned to the top spot in April with the Model 3 (1,716 units). In second place is the Audi Q4 40 e-tron (239 units), followed by the BMW i5 eDrive40 (180), the Volkswagen ID.4 (159) and the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV (155). It is not surprising that more than 10% of 5 Series customers opt for the electric version of the i5.

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