SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Tesla, this year's standout performer among imported car brands in South Korea, widened its lead in August by selling more vehicles than BMW and Mercedes-Benz combined.
Tesla registered 10,400 vehicles in August, exceeding the combined 10,217 units sold by second-ranked BMW and third-ranked Mercedes-Benz, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA). BMW registered 6,180 vehicles and Mercedes-Benz 4,037.
Tesla's sales rose 1.6 percent from July and 30.4 percent from a year earlier. Itsshare of Korea's imported passenger vehicle market reached 34.88 percent, up from 33.05 percent in July, meaning more than one in three imported cars registered in Korea last month was a Tesla.
Tesla ranked third in January with 1,966 vehicles before moving into first place in February with 7,868 units. It has remained the top-selling imported brand every month since and has surpassed 10,000 monthly registrations for six consecutive months.
The Model Y accounted for most of the volume, with 9,638 units registered in August, representing 32.3 percent of all imported passenger vehicle registrations on its own.
BMW's August sales fell 5.4 percent from July and 4.3 percent from a year earlier. Mercedes-Benz sales rose 2.0 percent from July but declined 6.8 percent year on year.
Tesla registered 76,776 vehicles in Korea from January through August, up 122.3 percent from 34,543 during the same period last year.
BMW's cumulative sales edged up 1.2 percent to 51,863 units, while Mercedes-Benz registrations fell 8.7 percent to 37,772.
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD ranked fourth in August with 3,002 vehicles, up 5.5 percent from July.
The Dolphin led BYD's lineup, followed by the Sealion 7 and the plug-in hybrid Sealion 6 DM-i.
Overall imported passenger vehicle registrations totaled 29,817 units in August, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier but down 3.7 percent from July.
AJP Takeaways
· Tesla sold 10,400 vehicles in Korea in August, more than BMW and Mercedes-Benz combined.
· The Model Y alone accounted for 9,638 registrations, or 32.3 percent of the import market.
· Tesla's January-August sales jumped 122.3 percent from a year earlier.
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