Kia #1 for 3rd time in 4 months, Hyundai Porter and Kia Bongo on top – Best Selling Cars Blog

The Hyundai Porter is the best-selling vehicle in South Korea in April.

The South Korean new light vehicle market reduces its fall to -11.5% to 142,698 sales in April as parts shortages continue to impact the industry. New subsidies for eco-friendly cars has somehow prevented a larger drop. The year-to-date volume now stands at 512,728 units, off -13.5% over a year ago. In the detail, local manufacturers are down -11.8% this month to 119,628 while foreigners drop -9.8% to 23,070. Year-to-date, locals drop -13.6% to 427,926 and foreigners are down -13% to 84,802. A momentous change atop the brands ranking is starting to cement itself: Kia (-2%) is the #1 brand at home for the 2nd consecutive month and the third time this year, solidifying its year-to-date leadership (-5.2%) with a 4,000 sales advantage over Hyundai, down -14.6% this month and -19.7% YTD. Genesis (-18.7%) easily holds onto the third position but sees its market share thaw to 7.9% vs. 8.5% YTD. Mercedes (-7.2%) remains the most popular foreign brand at #4 overall, distancing BMW (+8/9%). These are the only two foreigners in the Top 8 as Ssangyong (+45.8%) on plant closure-affected low year-ago sales, GM Korea (-46.1%) and Renault Samsung (-57.4%) follow. Volvo (+5.5%) braves the negative market at #9 with Audi (-20.4%) rounding out the Top 10. Toyota (+23.9%), Land Rover (+58.8%), Bentley (+83.3%) post the only additional gains in market just as newcomer Polestar is up three spots on March to #17.

Over in the foreign models charts, the Hyundai Porter (-8.3%) and Kia Bongo (-4.4%) are the two best-selling vehicles for the 2nd time in the past 3 months and are now also #1 and #2 year-to-date. Part of the reason for this success is the lower amount of semiconductors needed to produce these two vehicles with has helped production. Thanks to the end of a production bottleneck, The Hyundai Avante (aka Elantra), down -14% year-on-year, rallies back up 8 spots on March to land on the third step of the podium. The Kia Sorento (-10.9%) is down two two ranks to #4, distancing the Hyundai Grandeur (-46.4%) and Kia Carnival (-40.9%) in great difficulty. The Kia Sportage (+290.4%) benefits from both the new generation and its EV variant but is down four spots on last month to #7. The Hyundai Tucson (-6.8%) resists best in the remainder of the Top 10. The Hyundai Casper (#15) is the best-selling recent launch (<12 months) above the Kia EV6 (#17) and Genesis GV60 (#35).

Looking at foreign models, the podium is identical to year-to-date, with the Mercedes E-Class (-12.4%) in the lead above the BMW 5 Series (+28.6%) and Mercedes S-Class (+74.2%) in tow and faring extremely well. The Mercedes C-Class (+342.2%) is up 37 spots on last month to #4 vs. #13 year-to-date distancing the BMW 3 Series (-2.7%) and 6 Series (+64.1%). The Mercedes GLB (+2.2%) jumps from outside the March 2022 Top 50 directly to #7 but the hero of the month is the Polestar 2 up 22 ranks to #8 and breaking into the South Korean Top 10 for the first time. The Volvo S90 (+46.4%), BMW 7 Series (+70.4%), Volvo XC40 (+18.7%), Jeep Wrangler (+38.2%) and Toyota RAV4 (+92.9%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 20, with the Mercedes G Class (+67.7%) also strong and the BMW i4 celebrating its first Top 50 finish directly at #24.

Previous month: South Korea March 2022: Kia leads, now #1 year-to-date in market off -19.2%

One year ago: Hyundai Grandeur back on top, Staria and Ioniq 5 land in market down -2.5%

Full April 2022 Top 30 All-brands, Top 55 All local models and Top 50 foreigners below.

South Korea April 2022 – brands:

Pos	Brand	Apr-22	%	/21	Mar	2022	%	/21	Pos	FY21
1	Kia	50,095	35.1%	-2.0%	1	171,759	33.5%	-5.2%	1	2
2	Hyundai	48,125	33.7%	-14.6%	2	167,796	32.7%	-19.7%	2	1
3	Genesis	11,290	7.9%	-18.7%	3	43,717	8.5%	-6.5%	3	3
4	Mercedes	7,822	5.5%	-7.2%	4	25,964	5.1%	-6.1%	4	4
5	BMW	6,658	4.7%	8.9%	5	24,701	4.8%	5.1%	5	5
6	Ssangyong	4,839	3.4%	45.8%	6	19,317	3.8%	21.1%	6	7
7	GM Korea	2,951	2.1%	-46.1%	8	10,350	2.0%	-54.7%	8	8
8	Renault Samsung	2,328	1.6%	-57.4%	7	14,987	2.9%	-19.4%	7	6
9	Volvo	1,332	0.9%	5.5%	9	4,692	0.9%	-4.5%	10	10
10	Audi	1,051	0.7%	-20.4%	11	4,702	0.9%	-46.1%	9	9
11	Porsche	918	0.6%	-6.1%	13	3,323	0.6%	-6.4%	13	16
12	Volkswagen	847	0.6%	-21.6%	12	4,221	0.8%	-26.3%	11	11
13	Mini	779	0.5%	-25.9%	10	3,603	0.7%	-7.2%	12	12
14	Toyota	648	0.5%	23.9%	16	1,757	0.3%	-6.6%	16	18
15	Jeep	565	0.4%	-43.6%	15	2,045	0.4%	-44.5%	14	13
16	Lexus	478	0.3%	-42.1%	14	2,019	0.4%	-28.0%	15	14
17	Polestar	460	0.3%	new	20	729	0.1%	new	23	–
18	Lincoln	267	0.2%	-40.3%	22	810	0.2%	-48.6%	21	20
19	Chevrolet	260	0.2%	-64.7%	17	1,611	0.3%	-52.5%	17	15
20	Honda	195	0.1%	-17.0%	23	868	0.2%	-11.4%	20	19
21	Land Rover	189	0.1%	58.8%	19	932	0.2%	-12.5%	19	21
22	Ford	186	0.1%	-79.4%	21	1,148	0.2%	-48.8%	18	17
23	Peugeot	163	0.1%	-26.2%	18	746	0.1%	14.1%	22	22
24	Cadillac	72	0.1%	-5.3%	25	211	0.0%	-39.9%	25	23
25	Bentley	66	0.0%	83.3%	26	188	0.0%	106.6%	26	26
26	Maserati	58	0.0%	-21.6%	24	235	0.0%	-11.0%	24	24
27	Lamborghini	20	0.0%	-45.9%	27	83	0.0%	-29.7%	27	27
28	Jaguar	19	0.0%	-32.1%	30	63	0.0%	-68.7%	29	28
29	Rolls-Royce	12	0.0%	-50.0%	28	79	0.0%	2.6%	28	29
30	DS	4	0.0%	new	29	33	0.0%	new	31	–
31	Citroen	1	0.0%	-98.2%	31	39	0.0%	-75.2%	30	25
–	Total local manufacturers	119,628	83.8%	-11.8%	–	427,926	83.5%	-13.6%	–	–
–	Total foreign manufacturers	23,070	16.2%	-9.8%	–	84,802	16.5%	-13.0%	–	–
–	Total market	142,698	100.0%	-11.5%	–	512,728	100.0%	-13.5%	–	–

South Korea April 2022 – local models:

Pos	Model	Apr-22	/21	Mar	2022	/21	Pos	FY21
1	Hyundai Porter	8,423	-8.3%	4	26,569	-26.1%	1	1
2	Kia Bongo	6,402	-4.4%	5	21,760	-7.2%	2	7
3	Hyundai Avante	6,382	-14.0%	11	19,408	-29.6%	4	4
4	Kia Sorento	5,551	-10.9%	2	20,828	-22.9%	3	5
5	Hyundai Grandeur	5,192	-46.4%	1	18,151	-48.9%	5	2
6	Kia Carnival	5,121	-40.9%	9	16,427	-48.9%	9	3
7	Kia Sportage	4,556	290.4%	3	17,711	296.8%	7	16
8	Hyundai Palisade	4,461	-22.8%	6	17,164	-12.1%	8	10
9	Kia K8	4,186	-16.6%	18	12,406	15.6%	15	12
10	Hyundai Tucson	4,175	-6.8%	17	13,218	-40.1%	14	11
11	Hyundai Sonata	4,165	-41.1%	7	14,694	-30.4%	10	6
12	Genesis G80	4,023	-33.1%	10	18,146	-7.5%	6	9
13	Kia Ray	3,993	4.9%	13	14,375	23.0%	13	18
14	Kia Niro	3,613	174.1%	21	9,819	111.8%	19	25
15	Hyundai Casper	3,420	new	12	14,397	new	12	34
16	Kia Seltos	3,364	-3.6%	8	14,636	-0.5%	11	15
17	Kia EV6	2,976	new	19	7,486	new	26	32
18	Hyundai Ioniq 5	2,963	2499.1%	15	10,542	9147.4%	18	24
19	Kia Morning	2,790	-16.7%	14	9,583	-20.8%	20	19
20	Kia K5	2,624	-60.3%	20	11,170	-54.4%	16	8
21	Hyundai Staria	2,387	1410.8%	23	9,350	5817.7%	21	21
22	Kia K3	2,351	-5.6%	24	7,736	9.9%	24	20
23	SsangYong Rexton Sports	2,310	62.7%	16	10,638	83.1%	17	22
24	Genesis G90	2,129	175.1%	27	5,177	115.8%	28	41
25	Genesis GV70	2,100	-49.5%	26	9,014	-36.6%	22	14
26	Hyundai Santa Fe	1,997	-51.2%	28	7,696	-50.2%	25	13
27	Genesis GV80	1,753	-24.5%	25	7,370	-7.2%	27	23
28	Kia Mohave	1,497	12.3%	34	3,705	-15.7%	32	33
29	SsangYong Tivoli	1,421	37.6%	31	4,946	-2.2%	30	29
30	Chevrolet Spark	1,363	-18.8%	32	3,288	-55.6%	33	27
31	Hyundai Nexo	1,294	2.3%	39	2,708	-6.9%	36	35
32	Chevrolet Trailblazer	1,109	-45.1%	29	4,609	-30.4%	31	26
33	Samsung XM3	1,104	-23.5%	30	5,108	-7.7%	29	28
34	Samsung QM6	847	-75.2%	22	8,265	-23.6%	23	17
35	Genesis GV60	796	new	36	2,007	new	39	52
36	Hyundai Venue	790	-35.5%	37	3,003	-37.9%	34	30
37	Hyundai Kona	773	-48.3%	35	2,934	-52.1%	35	31
38	SsangYong Korando	771	62.3%	38	2,480	-7.7%	38	36
39	Kia K9	664	61.2%	33	2,689	55.4%	37	39
40	Genesis G70	489	-21.8%	40	2,003	-22.3%	40	37
41	SsangYong Rexton	307	-21.3%	41	1,145	-52.1%	41	40
42	Kia Stinger	235	-35.4%	43	783	-41.3%	44	45
43	Samsung SM6	223	-10.8%	44	833	-14.5%	43	44
44	Chevrolet Trax	134	-60.8%	47	545	-60.2%	45	47
45	Chevrolet Malibu	110	-56.3%	46	526	-53.8%	46	46
46	Renault Samsung Master	82	67.3%	50	268	-16.3%	48	50
47	Chevrolet Colorado	74	-63.7%	42	1,083	-5.3%	42	42
48	Renault Samsung Zoe	72	9.1%	45	401	85.6%	47	54
49	Chevrolet Bolt EUV	59	new	–	59	new	53	–
50	Chevrolet Tahoe	58	new	–	58	new	54	–
51	Chevrolet Traverse	34	-90.9%	52	137	-87.9%	49	43
52	Ssangyong Rexton Emotion	30	new	49	108	new	51	–
53	Hyundai Veloster	22	-47.6%	51	99	-51.9%	52	56
54	Chevrolet Corvette/Camaro	10	0.0%	53	47	56.7%	55	60
55	Renault Samsung Twizy	0	-100.0%	48	112	-37.1%	50	58

South Korea April 2022 – foreign models:

Pos	Model	Apr-22	/21	Mar	2022	/21	Pos	FY21
1	Mercedes E Class	2,781	-12.4%	1	10,251	-8.2%	1	1
2	BMW 5 Series	2,390	28.6%	3	7,821	14.2%	2	2
3	Mercedes S Class	1,287	74.2%	4	5,401	367.2%	3	4
4	Mercedes C Class	1,269	342.2%	41	1,448	73.8%	13	35
5	BMW 3 Series	694	-2.7%	6	2,594	-13.9%	5	7
6	BMW 6 Series	502	64.1%	32	1,385	9.7%	14	26
7	Mercedes GLB	473	2.2%	n/a	828	n/a	31	n/a
8	Polestar 2	460	new	30	729	new	35	–
9	BMW X3	433	-18.6%	9	1,828	16.7%	8	14
10	Volvo S90	429	46.4%	8	1,537	73.7%	12	28
11	BMW X5	427	-19.1%	7	2,190	22.1%	6	11
12	Audi A6	389	-45.8%	19	1,543	-67.6%	11	3
13	Lexus ES	383	-28.0%	15	1,604	-12.0%	9	9
14	BMW 7 Series	380	70.4%	35	970	-1.6%	23	33
15	Mercedes GLC	376	-47.3%	10	1,176	-56.6%	19	10
16	Mercedes CLS	350	-32.6%	11	946	-42.7%	25	25
17	Volvo XC40	330	18.7%	33	854	-8.3%	29	31
18	Jeep Wrangler	322	38.2%	n/a	471	-54.7%	46	29
19	BMW X6	300	-24.6%	14	1,311	-4.9%	17	21
20	Toyota RAV4	297	92.9%	–	301	-55.0%	59	40
21	Mercedes G Class	275	67.7%	n/a	369	-60.9%	52	41
22	Mercedes GLE	269	-77.7%	5	1,950	-21.7%	7	8
23	Porsche Cayenne	255	-47.2%	18	1,276	-33.4%	18	24
24	BMW i4	250	new	n/a	282	new	60	–
25	BMW X1	248	34.8%	46	836	-26.1%	30	45
26	BMW X7	242	-36.5%	12	1,604	37.1%	10	19
27	Porsche Macan	235	240.6%	n/a	345	n/a	54	n/a
28	Mini Cooper Hatch	226	-56.7%	16	1,314	-20.5%	15	12
29	Mini Countryman	220	-20.6%	23	1,004	-14.3%	22	30
30	VW Arteon	211	70.2%	49	560	-47.7%	38	n/a
31	Toyota Camry	199	95.1%	20	816	23.3%	32	42
32	VW Golf	197	19600.0%	n/a	492	49100.0%	44	n/a
33	BMW X4	181	-56.2%	13	1,313	25.8%	16	20
34	VW Tiguan	181	-66.4%	17	1,106	-47.2%	20	15
35	Mercedes AMG GT	179	-50.6%	42	372	-10.6%	51	49
36	Volvo XC60	178	-22.3%	44	928	-18.2%	26	27
37	Porsche 911	176	179.4%	40	535	127.7%	40	n/a
38	Jeep Renegade	171	-40.0%	21	914	-13.7%	27	32
39	Mercedes GLS	160	201.9%	25	561	68.5%	37	n/a
40	Volvo XC90	159	47.2%	n/a	480	31.5%	45	n/a
41	VW T-Roc	152	16.0%	24	962	130.1%	24	37
42	Audi Q5	143	n/a	43	546	163.8%	39	n/a
43	Mini Clubman	135	-43.5%	31	661	-29.3%	36	34
44	Mini Electric	135	new	34	377	new	50	–
45	Mercedes A Class	119	-75.1%	27	810	-66.3%	33	18
46	Lincoln Aviator	118	-34.4%	48	533	-35.6%	41	48
47	Volvo C40	118	new	n/a	152	new	71	–
48	Porsche Taycan	115	-3.4%	n/a	520	50.3%	42	n/a
49	Mercedes CLA	109	3533.3%	26	870	2458.8%	28	50
50	BMW 2 Series	102	88.9%	47	424	-41.9%	49	n/a

Source: KAIDA