South Korea Vehicles Market in 2015 boomed at the all time record, first time above the 1.8 million units joining for the first time the Top 10 World’s markets. Hyundai Group has lost share while SsangYong shines.
Economic Outlook
Revised data confirm that the Korean economy rebounded in Q3, with GDP expanding 2.7% annually. Growth was driven by strong domestic dynamics, although the external sector continues to be a major drag. Moreover, recent data suggest that the economy will struggle to gain further momentum in Q4.
Consumer confidence reached an over-one-year high in November. However, exports contracted again in November, the manufacturing PMI stagnated in contraction territory in the same month and business confidence remained stuck in pessimistic territory in December amid a deterioration in sentiment among export-oriented firms.
The boost from fiscal stimulus measures introduced by the government earlier in the year is fading and exports, which represent roughly half of Korea’s GDP, are unlikely to recover soon as China and other emerging market slow.
Market Outlook
In December light vehicles sales has taken the momentum posting the 16th Year-on-year increase and ending the year with a huge increase over the 2014 and at the new all time record level. In addition, December was the first month ever with sales volume above the 200.000 units.
As released by KAMA and KAIDA, the two South Korean Associations of Automotive Manufacturers, in December new light vehicles sales had been 200.233, up a majestic 25.1% lifting the full year figures at 1.824.288, up 13.1% from the 2014, new all time record volume, first time above the 1.8 million units.
Korean market in the 2015 ranked for the first time ever within the World’s Top 10 markets, gaining 1 spot from the previous year.
During the 2015 Hyundai has sold 714.121 units (+9.5%) new record with 39.1% of market share and was followed by Kia with 527.500 (+11.6%) and 28.9% of market share, at new record, of course.
GM Korea (Chevrolet plus Daewoo) was third with 158.404 (+10.3%) ahead of SsangYong with record volume at 99.664 sales (+45.2%) Renault Samsung with 80.017 (-0.5%), BMW with 47.874 (+18.7%) and Mercedes with 46.993 (+31.6%).
As far as the ranking by group, Hyundai Kia on top reported a market share declining at 68.1% followed by General Motors at 8.7% and Mahindra Group at 5.5%
The best-selling model was the Hyundai Sonata with 108.438 units (+0.4%) followed by the Hyundai Avante with 100.422 (+7.0%) and the Hyundai Porter with 99.743 (+4.2%). Kia Sorento in 7th place reported a +104.0% in sales while Samsung SM7 in 41st was up 80%
To see the detailed report on the best-selling cars, with top 100 models score in the 2015, see the report dedicated.
Research, Consulting, Data & Forecast Store
F2M covers intensively this market with several products developed to help any investigation required.
Market Researches in PDF are immediately available for download with study on the market since 2005 and with forecast up to the 2020.
Auto Data in EXCEL are immediately downloadable with annual sales volume, split by month, for all brands and all models distributed in the market. This year data are released year to date, but you will receive a monthly update until the year-end.
All these and more within our South Korea Store.
Below, you can sort our interactive tables to see data regarding Brands, Groups and Models. Please bear in mind that sales data are subject to adjustments as sources will update their information. This report is updated at the publishing date and will not be modified while the next on this subject will always have the year to date data updated.
| Rank Dec | Rank 2015 | Brand | Sales Dec | Sales 2015 | Dec Var | 2015 Var | Share Dec | Share 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hyundai | 82.060 | 714.121 | 18,3% | 9,5% | 41,0% | 39,1% |
| 2 | 2 | Kia | 53.330 | 527.500 | 11,1% | 11,6% | 26,6% | 28,9% |
| 3 | 3 | Chevrolet | 18.287 | 158.404 | 151,1% | 10,3% | 9,1% | 8,7% |
| 4 | 4 | SsangYong | 11.351 | 99.664 | 28,8% | 45,2% | 5,7% | 5,5% |
| 5 | 5 | Renault Samsung | 10.235 | 80.017 | 4,3% | -0,5% | 5,1% | 4,4% |
| 6 | 6 | BMW | 5.224 | 47.874 | 61,1% | 18,7% | 2,6% | 2,6% |
| 7 | 7 | Mercedes | 4.950 | 46.993 | 54,3% | 31,6% | 2,5% | 2,6% |
| 9 | 8 | Volkswagen | 2.635 | 35.778 | -6,8% | 16,8% | 1,3% | 2,0% |
| 8 | 9 | Audi | 2.887 | 32.593 | 73,2% | 18,3% | 1,4% | 1,8% |
| 11 | 10 | Lexus | 1.157 | 7.956 | 147,8% | 29,2% | 0,6% | 0,4% |
| 12 | 11 | Toyota | 905 | 7.825 | 32,3% | 17,1% | 0,5% | 0,4% |
| 15 | 12 | Ford | 665 | 7.508 | 29,6% | 21,5% | 0,3% | 0,4% |
| 13 | 13 | Mini | 764 | 7.491 | -34,0% | 12,1% | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 10 | 14 | Land Rover | 1.317 | 7.266 | 128,6% | 54,7% | 0,7% | 0,4% |
| 22 | 15 | Peugeot | 322 | 7.000 | 166,1% | 136,0% | 0,2% | 0,4% |
| 16 | 16 | Nissan | 620 | 5.736 | 160,5% | 45,0% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 17 | 17 | Jeep | 564 | 4.894 | 46,5% | 14,9% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 23 | 18 | Honda | 295 | 4.511 | 6,9% | 25,8% | 0,1% | 0,2% |
| 19 | 19 | Volvo | 363 | 4.238 | 77,9% | 42,4% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 24 | 20 | Porsche | 186 | 3.859 | 8,1% | 50,4% | 0,1% | 0,2% |
| 18 | 21 | Infiniti | 448 | 2.971 | 176,5% | 14,1% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 20 | 22 | Lincoln | 348 | 2.839 | 60,4% | 11,9% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 21 | 23 | Jaguar | 332 | 2.814 | 58,9% | 42,6% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 14 | 24 | Chrysler | 684 | 1.929 | 297,7% | 79,3% | 0,3% | 0,1% |
| 25 | 25 | Cadillac | 126 | 886 | 63,6% | 75,8% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 26 | 26 | Fiat | 72 | 615 | 46,9% | -47,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 29 | 27 | Bentley | 25 | 385 | 316,7% | 23,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 27 | 28 | Citroen | 42 | 333 | -53,8% | -41,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 28 | 29 | DS | 30 | 225 | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 30 | 30 | Rolls-Royce | 9 | 63 | #DIV/0! | 800,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Rank Dec | Rank 2015 | Group | Sales Dec | Sales 2015 | Dec Var | 2015 Var | Share Dec | Share 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hyundai-Kia | 135.390 | 1.241.621 | 15,3% | 10,4% | 67,6% | 68,1% |
| 2 | 2 | General Motors | 18.413 | 159.290 | 150,1% | 10,6% | 9,2% | 8,7% |
| 3 | 3 | Mahindra Group | 11.351 | 99.664 | 28,8% | 45,2% | 5,7% | 5,5% |
| 4 | 4 | Renault-Nissan | 11.303 | 88.724 | 10,7% | 2,0% | 5,6% | 4,9% |
| 5 | 6 | BMW | 5.997 | 55.428 | 36,3% | 17,9% | 3,0% | 3,0% |
| 6 | 5 | Volkswagen | 5.733 | 72.615 | 22,7% | 18,9% | 2,9% | 4,0% |
| 7 | 7 | Mercedes Daimler | 4.950 | 46.993 | 54,3% | 31,6% | 2,5% | 2,6% |
| 8 | 8 | Toyota | 2.062 | 15.781 | 79,1% | 22,9% | 1,0% | 0,9% |
| 9 | 10 | Tata | 1.649 | 10.080 | 110,1% | 51,1% | 0,8% | 0,6% |
| 10 | 12 | FCA | 1.320 | 7.438 | 117,8% | 14,4% | 0,7% | 0,4% |
| Rank Dec | Rank 2015 | Model | Sales Dec | Sales 2015 | Dec Var | 2015 Var | Share Dec | Share 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Hyundai Avante | 13.454 | 100.422 | 11,8% | 7,0% | 6,7% | 5,6% |
| 2 | 1 | Hyundai Sonata | 12.678 | 108.438 | 6,6% | 0,4% | 6,4% | 6,0% |
| 3 | 4 | Hyundai Santa fe | 12.189 | 92.928 | 118,0% | 19,6% | 6,1% | 5,2% |
| 4 | 6 | Hyundai Grandeur | 11.200 | 87.182 | -10,9% | -6,5% | 5,6% | 4,9% |
| 5 | 5 | Kia Morning | 10.057 | 88.455 | 1,6% | -7,9% | 5,0% | 4,9% |
| 6 | 13 | Kia Sportage | 9.541 | 52.725 | 172,6% | 10,5% | 4,8% | 2,9% |
| 7 | 3 | Hyundai Porter | 8.416 | 99.743 | -2,1% | 4,2% | 4,2% | 5,6% |
| 8 | 11 | Kia K5 | 8.079 | 58.619 | 45,1% | 19,6% | 4,0% | 3,3% |
| 9 | 10 | Chevrolet Spark | 6.879 | 58.978 | 8,2% | -2,5% | 3,4% | 3,3% |
| 10 | 7 | Kia Sorento | 6.201 | 77.768 | 7,2% | 104,0% | 3,1% | 4,3% |
| 11 | 17 | Hyundai Genesis | 5.972 | 38.923 | 25,3% | 6,0% | 3,0% | 2,2% |
| 12 | 12 | Hyundai Tucson | 5.736 | 57.411 | 92,0% | 37,5% | 2,9% | 3,2% |
| 13 | 15 | Ssangyong Tivoli | 5.212 | 45.021 | 2,6% | 2,5% | ||
| 14 | 8 | Kia Carnival | 4.825 | 67.559 | 14,6% | 62,2% | 2,4% | 3,8% |
| 15 | 9 | Kia Bongo | 4.191 | 61.863 | -11,5% | 12,3% | 2,1% | 3,4% |
| 16 | 14 | Hyundai Grand Starex | 3.816 | 48.384 | -36,8% | 6,0% | 1,9% | 2,7% |
| 17 | 16 | Kia K3 | 3.611 | 42.912 | -42,7% | -13,0% | 1,8% | 2,4% |
| 18 | 20 | Samsung QM3 | 3.018 | 24.560 | -9,3% | 35,0% | 1,5% | 1,4% |
| 19 | 44 | Chevrolet Impala | 2.699 | 6.913 | 1,4% | 0,4% | ||
| 20 | 25 | Hyundai Accent | 2.657 | 18.280 | 20,5% | -21,2% | 1,3% | 1,0% |
| 21 | 24 | Mercedes E Class | 2.643 | 19.658 | 133,7% | 12,4% | 1,3% | 1,1% |
| 22 | 18 | Kia Ray | 2.599 | 25.985 | 30,8% | -13,7% | 1,3% | 1,4% |
| 23 | 19 | SsangYong Korando Sports | 2.578 | 25.905 | 3,2% | -8,4% | 1,3% | 1,4% |
| 24 | 21 | Samsung SM5 | 2.553 | 23.866 | -24,4% | -12,4% | 1,3% | 1,3% |
| 25 | 23 | Kia Pride | 2.402 | 19.686 | -1,3% | -0,1% | 1,2% | 1,1% |
| 26 | 22 | Kia K7 | 2.396 | 20.805 | -26,5% | -7,3% | 1,2% | 1,2% |
| 27 | 28 | Samsung SM3 | 2.164 | 16.302 | -1,1% | -22,1% | 1,1% | 0,9% |
| 28 | 41 | Samsung SM7 | 2.134 | 8.485 | 225,3% | 80,8% | 1,1% | 0,5% |
| 29 | 26 | Chevrolet Cruze | 1.897 | 17.061 | -18,7% | -9,7% | 1,0% | 1,0% |
| 30 | 32 | Chevrolet Trax | 1.814 | 12.727 | 54,6% | 22,8% | 0,9% | 0,7% |
| 31 | 30 | SsangYong Korando C | 1.714 | 15.677 | -51,7% | -28,2% | 0,9% | 0,9% |
| 32 | 33 | BMW 3 Series | 1.630 | 10.829 | 831,4% | 21,8% | 0,8% | 0,6% |
| 33 | 29 | BMW 5 Series | 1.467 | 15.994 | 11,4% | 4,4% | 0,7% | 0,9% |
| 34 | 34 | Hyundai Maxcruz | 1.435 | 10.506 | 162,8% | 23,2% | 0,7% | 0,6% |
| 35 | 31 | Audi A6 | 1.237 | 12.943 | 10,7% | 0,6% | 0,7% | |
| 36 | 27 | Chevrolet Malibu | 1.205 | 16.382 | -51,4% | -14,5% | 0,6% | 0,9% |
| 37 | 37 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 1.198 | 9.467 | 59,7% | 16,3% | 0,6% | 0,5% |
| 38 | 42 | Mercedes C Class | 937 | 8.156 | 615,3% | 47,8% | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 39 | 48 | SsangYong Rexton W | 915 | 6.087 | 10,2% | -14,7% | 0,5% | 0,3% |
| 40 | 52 | Lexus ES | 891 | 5.575 | 115,2% | 13,6% | 0,4% | 0,3% |
