Korea Sales : 2021

Like other Asian countries, when it comes to registrations Korea keeps import brands separate from domestic ones. Sales for all the market in December were -6% and for the year -8%. Imports were -24% and +1% for the corresponding periods. The +/- column below compares market share in 2021 to 2020. 

Domestic: Kia and Hyundai have the mainstream market pretty much to themselves. Samsung, Ssangyong and Chevrolet all compete in that arena but can't do anything to blunt their dominance. In fact, in 2021 they lost ground to them.

Now Hyundai has brought out the Genesis brand to take on imports in the premium segment. The latter previously had that area to themselves but not anymore. Higher priced cars can absorb duty yet still sell well but the locals have taken to Genesis in a positive way. 

Imports: The number of brands available was reduced by two in 2021 with the loss of Nissan and Infiniti. JLR has gone from 1.0% market share to 0.2% in just four years. Strange. Others have done really well over the same timeframe. It seems brands fall in and out of favour and maybe not just with the buying public. No one talks about it though, so it's hard to be certain.

Data source: KAMA, KAIDA.

Updated: 22/02/2022 to include Tesla.