SEOUL, KOREA - In Korea’s more than 40-million-won luxury car market, the share of Korean brands recovered to a 30-percent level, while the growth of import cars slipped first in four years.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on September 29, the sales of Korean-made luxury cars with price tags of more than 40 million won, (including SUVs) stood at 47,119 units in the January-August period of this year, gaining a share of 32.9 percent in the luxury car segment.
In this segment, Korean brands have been losing market share since 2011 when their share stood at 44.5 percent. Their market share fell to a record-low level at 28.6 percent last year.
After growing at a robust pace, thanks to the rising popularity of German brands, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen, the share of import brands took a negative growth this year, first in four years.