Teslas Still Sell Better Than Other Electric Cars
14 July, 2021
Four out of every 10 electric cars sold in Korea in the first six months of this year were Teslas as domestic automakers struggled with production glitches.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Monday, 53.7 percent of 26,632 EVs sold in the country in the first half were imports. Tesla's sales rose 64.3 percent on-year to 11,629 cars to account for 43.6 percent, making it the third-biggest seller among imports overall after Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The bulk of Tesla's sales were the Model 3 fastback and Model Y midsize SUV, which are its more affordable models.
But sales of other foreign EVs surged 66.4 percent led by Porsche's Taycan 4S (802 cars), Mercedes-Benz's EQC 400 (337), Peugeot's e-2008 (147) and Audi's e-tron 55 Quattro (114).
Sales of Korean electric cars grew only 32 percent. Hyundai's Kona EV, Kia's Niro EV and GM's Volt EV were discontinued or were released years ago, and Hyundai's Ioniq 5, which was unveiled in April, was held up by parts shortages.
But Tesla's dominance is likely to be challenged in the second half as competing models are set for release here. Kia is set to unveil its EV6 later this month, while Genesis' G80 electric version was released earlier this month and its small GV60 EV SUV will hit showrooms in the third quarter.
Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are also set to roll out more electric cars.
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