SEOUL, KOREA - In the Korean import car market, diesel models enjoyed an explosive sales growth last year and the trend continues throughout this year. In contrast to the growing demand for diesel cars, Japanese cars are losing popularity with their market share falling to less than 12 percent this year from 15 percent last year.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on June 13, diesel cars were sold 52,365 units during the January-May period of this year, accounting for about 70 percent in total import car sales here.
This trend is led by a string of German brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volkswagen which are releasing a variety of high fuel efficiency diesel models.
Despite this overall trend, however, there is a brand which is reviving with a gasoline model—Toyota’s high-end brand Lexus. In particular, Lexus’ best-selling ES300h has emerged as a hit model in Korea. It is the only gasoline model within the top-ten best-selling import car ranking. It was sold 1,578 units during the first five months of this year, ranking No. 9 among import car models. In terms of monthly sales, it ranked at No. 5 last month.