The Renault Grand Koleos aka Geely Monjaro has a blockbuster debut in South Korea.
New light vehicle sales in South Korea edge up 0.9% year-on-year in September to 130,416 units. This lift is only due to the good health of foreign manufacturers at +10.1% to 24,839 whereas locals are off -1% to 105,577. The year-to-date tally is down -6.9% to 1,196,952 including 1,002,221 locals (-7.9%) and 194,731 foreigners (-1.5%). Hyundai (-0.5%) is stable and ranks #1 at home for the 6th time in the past 7 months with 34.6% share. Far below at 29.3% of the market, Kia (-13.8%) follows and sees the gap with Hyundai year-to-date expand to almost 9,000 units including 7,000 for September only. Genesis (+24.9%) is in excellent shape at #3, surpassing the 10,000 monthly sales bar for the 11th consecutive month. Mercedes (+20.2%), BMW (+14.4%) and KG Mobility (+11.5%) also impress but the best performance of the month is delivered by Renault Korea at +203.5% year-on-year and up five spots on August to #6 with 3.8% share vs. 1.6% year-to-date. This is due to one single model as we’ll see further down.
In the local models ranking, the Kia Sorento (-35%) reclaims the top spot it holds year-to-date despite a damning year-on-year loss. The Hyundai Grandeur (-25%) is also in bad shape but manages to maintain itself in 2nd place. The Hyundai Santa Fe (+3.4%) advances to #3 above four surging models: the Kia Carnival (+12.2%), Hyundai Sonata (+65.9%), Kia K8 (+96.8%) up 12 spots on last month to #6 and the Hyundai Tucson (+45.6%). Up to #9 last month, the new Kia EV3 tumbles down to #22. Single-handedly pushing Renault Korea sales up, the Grand Koleos gains 38 ranks on its inaugural month to land at #12, accounting for 78% of the brand’s September sales. As a reminder the Grand Koleos is based on the Geely Monjaro. This is the highest monthly ranking for a Renault Korea model since the QM6 (Koleos) hit #10 in June 2022. Orders for the Grand Koleos have exceeded 15,000 units.
As for foreign models, the Mercedes E-Class (+40.8%) delivers almost 5,000 units, which places it at #4 in the overall models ranking (local + foreigners). This way, it snaps the YTD lead off the Tesla Model Y (-81.1%) imploding this month. The BMW 5 Series (+335.3%) ranks 2nd with just under 2,000 sales, distancing the Mercedes GLC (+185.6%) also in outstanding shape. The Mercedes S Class (+49.8%), BMW X3 (+114%) and Tesla Model 3 (+53300%!) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10.
Previous month: South Korea August 2024: Hyundai Sonata #1, Kia EV3 breaks into Top 10
One year ago: South Korea September 2023: Kia Sorento scores first win, Hyundai Santa Fe up to #5
Full September 2024 Top 30 All brands, Top 58 All local models and Top 50 foreigners below.
South Korea September 2024 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Sep-24 | % | /23 | Aug | 2024 | % | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Hyundai | 45,167 | 34.6% | – 0.5% | 1 | 416,147 | 34.8% | – 10.9% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 38,269 | 29.3% | – 13.8% | 2 | 407,378 | 34.0% | – 4.6% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Genesis | 10,638 | 8.2% | + 24.9% | 3 | 102,365 | 8.6% | + 5.1% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 8,382 | 6.4% | + 20.2% | 5 | 48,048 | 4.0% | – 11.6% | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | BMW | 7,082 | 5.4% | + 14.4% | 4 | 54,472 | 4.6% | – 3.6% | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Renault Korea | 5,010 | 3.8% | + 203.5% | 11 | 19,042 | 1.6% | + 11.2% | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | KG Mobility (ex Ssangyong) | 4,535 | 3.5% | + 11.5% | 6 | 36,693 | 3.1% | – 28.0% | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | GM Korea | 1,958 | 1.5% | – 25.6% | 8 | 19,228 | 1.6% | – 33.8% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Tesla | 1,349 | 1.0% | n/a | 7 | 23,617 | 2.0% | n/a | 7 | 11 |
| 10 | Lexus | 1,312 | 1.0% | + 43.2% | 10 | 10,196 | 0.9% | + 1.5% | 11 | 12 |
| 11 | Volvo | 1,282 | 1.0% | – 17.6% | 12 | 11,123 | 0.9% | – 11.1% | 10 | 10 |
| 12 | Audi | 995 | 0.8% | – 29.7% | 13 | 6,529 | 0.5% | – 53.7% | 13 | 9 |
| 13 | Toyota | 778 | 0.6% | + 9.3% | 14 | 7,059 | 0.6% | + 16.8% | 12 | 16 |
| 14 | Volkswagen | 760 | 0.6% | – 31.8% | 9 | 5,916 | 0.5% | – 15.1% | 15 | 14 |
| 15 | Porsche | 721 | 0.6% | + 3.7% | 15 | 6,043 | 0.5% | – 32.7% | 14 | 13 |
| 16 | Land Rover | 446 | 0.3% | + 41.6% | 16 | 3,237 | 0.3% | – 20.9% | 17 | 18 |
| 17 | Mini | 428 | 0.3% | – 42.0% | 18 | 5,734 | 0.5% | – 18.1% | 16 | 15 |
| 18 | Ford | 285 | 0.2% | + 57.5% | 17 | 2,951 | 0.2% | + 13.6% | 18 | 20 |
| 19 | Honda | 223 | 0.2% | + 112.4% | 19 | 1,971 | 0.2% | + 142.1% | 20 | 24 |
| 20 | Jeep | 194 | 0.1% | – 34.5% | 21 | 2,034 | 0.2% | – 40.2% | 19 | 19 |
| 21 | Lincoln | 193 | 0.1% | + 271.2% | 22 | 1,821 | 0.2% | + 118.1% | 21 | 22 |
| 22 | Chevrolet | 178 | 0.1% | – 68.4% | 20 | 1,131 | 0.1% | – 73.8% | 22 | 17 |
| 23 | Cadillac | 54 | 0.0% | – 1.8% | 23 | 525 | 0.0% | – 22.5% | 24 | 25 |
| 24 | Bentley | 42 | 0.0% | – 30.0% | 25 | 257 | 0.0% | – 57.8% | 27 | 26 |
| 25 | Peugeot | 40 | 0.0% | – 76.7% | 24 | 752 | 0.1% | – 44.2% | 23 | 21 |
| 26 | Lamborghini | 37 | 0.0% | – 24.5% | 26 | 323 | 0.0% | + 2.2% | 26 | 29 |
| 27 | GMC | 26 | 0.0% | – 50.0% | 27 | 244 | 0.0% | – 38.2% | 28 | 27 |
| 28 | Maserati | 16 | 0.0% | – 46.7% | 29 | 203 | 0.0% | – 39.2% | 29 | 28 |
| 29 | Rolls-Royce | 12 | 0.0% | – 20.0% | 28 | 135 | 0.0% | – 40.5% | 30 | 30 |
| 30 | Polestar | 4 | 0.0% | – 98.6% | 30 | 410 | 0.0% | – 62.8% | 25 | 23 |
| – | Total local manufacturers | 105,577 | 81.0% | – 1.0% | – | 1,002,221 | 83.7% | – 7.9% | – | – |
| – | Total foreign manufacturers | 24,839 | 19.0% | + 10.1% | – | 194,731 | 16.3% | – 1.5% | – | – |
| – | Total market | 130,416 | 100.0% | + 0.9% | – | 1,196,952 | 100.0% | – 6.9% | – | – |
South Korea September 2024 – local models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-24 | /23 | Aug | 2024 | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Kia Sorento | 6,628 | – 35.0% | 14 | 67,314 | + 12.9% | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Hyundai Grandeur | 6,120 | – 25.0% | 2 | 51,964 | – 41.3% | 6 | 1 |
| 3 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 5,314 | + 3.4% | 4 | 56,042 | + 111.1% | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Kia Carnival | 4,900 | + 12.2% | 6 | 62,352 | + 13.9% | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Hyundai Sonata | 4,890 | + 65.9% | 1 | 38,963 | + 57.5% | 9 | 17 |
| 6 | Kia K8 | 4,724 | + 96.3% | 18 | 21,067 | – 37.2% | 20 | 15 |
| 7 | Hyundai Tucson | 4,553 | + 45.6% | 10 | 36,704 | + 9.5% | 11 | 12 |
| 8 | Kia Sportage | 4,541 | – 15.9% | 3 | 56,063 | + 5.1% | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | Hyundai Porter | 4,457 | – 22.9% | 7 | 52,735 | – 28.5% | 5 | 2 |
| 10 | Kia Seltos | 4,433 | + 0.8% | 5 | 44,676 | + 12.7% | 7 | 10 |
| 11 | Hyundai Casper | 4,002 | + 8.0% | 8 | 32,786 | + 2.2% | 13 | 11 |
| 12 | Renault Korea Grand Koleos | 3,900 | new | 50 | 3,945 | new | 36 | – |
| 13 | Genesis G80 | 3,898 | + 38.3% | 15 | 34,880 | – 3.4% | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | Hyundai Avante | 3,747 | – 14.2% | 11 | 38,984 | – 21.0% | 8 | 6 |
| 15 | Kia Ray | 3,363 | – 2.9% | 13 | 36,741 | – 1.4% | 10 | 9 |
| 16 | Genesis GV70 | 3,343 | + 16.7% | 12 | 24,766 | – 1.8% | 18 | 21 |
| 17 | Hyundai Staria | 3,194 | + 21.3% | 17 | 29,928 | + 1.0% | 16 | 16 |
| 18 | Hyundai Kona | 2,661 | + 6.4% | 21 | 21,490 | – 18.8% | 19 | 19 |
| 19 | Genesis GV80 | 2,610 | + 73.2% | 20 | 31,420 | + 59.8% | 15 | 22 |
| 20 | Kia Bongo | 2,586 | – 42.3% | 16 | 31,775 | – 34.3% | 14 | 7 |
| 21 | Kia K5 | 2,277 | – 0.1% | 19 | 26,057 | + 5.7% | 17 | 20 |
| 22 | Kia EV3 | 2,022 | new | 9 | 7,999 | new | 29 | – |
| 23 | Hyundai Palisade | 1,704 | – 41.9% | 22 | 15,026 | – 54.5% | 21 | 14 |
| 24 | KGM Actyon | 1,686 | new | 29 | 2,466 | new | 40 | – |
| 25 | Chevrolet Trax Crossover | 1,444 | + 1.4% | 25 | 14,414 | – 13.5% | 22 | 24 |
| 26 | KGM Rexton Sports | 1,225 | – 16.0% | 26 | 9,897 | – 17.7% | 27 | 28 |
| 27 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 1,172 | + 66.2% | 23 | 11,286 | – 10.6% | 25 | 27 |
| 28 | Kia Morning | 968 | – 48.8% | 28 | 10,296 | – 47.8% | 26 | 23 |
| 29 | Kia Niro | 873 | – 51.1% | 24 | 11,668 | – 37.5% | 23 | 25 |
| 30 | KGM Torres | 632 | – 60.1% | 27 | 11,349 | – 62.7% | 24 | 18 |
| 31 | Renault Korea Arkana | 579 | – 14.2% | 33 | 7,832 | + 11.9% | 30 | 33 |
| 32 | Genesis G90 | 551 | – 34.1% | 35 | 6,093 | – 38.8% | 33 | 30 |
| 33 | KGM Tivoli | 515 | – 30.8% | 34 | 5,193 | + 2.5% | 35 | 37 |
| 34 | Renault Korea QM6 | 468 | – 44.2% | 30 | 6,417 | – 22.6% | 32 | 31 |
| 35 | Hyundai Venue | 411 | – 46.7% | 39 | 3,396 | – 41.4% | 37 | 34 |
| 36 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 368 | + 7.0% | 36 | 3,176 | – 60.4% | 39 | 32 |
| 37 | Kia EV6 | 324 | – 46.1% | 31 | 7,572 | – 45.4% | 31 | 26 |
| 38 | Chevrolet Trailblazer | 324 | – 41.9% | 40 | 3,340 | – 46.1% | 38 | 36 |
| 39 | KGM Torres EVX | 287 | new | 37 | 5,334 | new | 34 | 45 |
| 40 | Hyundai Nexo | 268 | + 13.1% | 38 | 2,408 | – 37.1% | 41 | 39 |
| 41 | Genesis G70 | 202 | – 47.4% | 41 | 1,853 | – 47.0% | 43 | 40 |
| 42 | Kia K9 | 163 | – 29.7% | 44 | 1,743 | – 45.8% | 44 | 41 |
| 43 | KGM Rexton | 137 | – 30.5% | 45 | 1,570 | – 32.6% | 46 | 43 |
| 44 | Kia EV9 | 122 | – 89.5% | 46 | 1,600 | – 61.5% | 45 | 35 |
| 45 | Kia Mohave | 118 | – 62.8% | 42 | 2,118 | – 49.1% | 42 | 38 |
| 46 | Hyundai ST1 | 102 | new | 43 | 678 | new | 49 | – |
| 47 | Chevrolet Traverse | 84 | + 44.8% | 48 | 795 | – 4.8% | 48 | 50 |
| 48 | Chevrolet Colorado | 68 | – 25.3% | 47 | 291 | – 75.6% | 52 | 46 |
| 49 | KGM Korando | 50 | – 41.9% | 49 | 859 | – 26.4% | 47 | 48 |
| 50 | Genesis GV60 | 34 | – 67.3% | 52 | 446 | – 84.8% | 51 | 42 |
| 51 | Renault Korea SM6 | 33 | – 75.9% | 51 | 587 | – 66.9% | 50 | 44 |
| 52 | GMC Sierra | 31 | + 3.3% | 53 | 250 | – 32.2% | 54 | 53 |
| 53 | Renault Korea Master | 30 | n/a | 54 | 261 | + 283.8% | 53 | 57 |
| 54 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 6 | – 33.3% | 55 | 88 | – 48.8% | 55 | 54 |
| 55 | Kia K3 | 4 | – 99.6% | 32 | 9,831 | + 3.6% | 28 | 29 |
| 56 | KGM Korando EV | 3 | new | 56 | 25 | new | 56 | – |
| 57 | Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 0 | – 100.0% | – | 20 | – 98.6% | 57 | 47 |
| 58 | Chevrolet Equinox | 0 | – 100.0% | – | 12 | – 97.2% | 58 | 51 |
South Korea September 2024 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-24 | /23 | Aug | 2024 | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Mercedes E Class | 4,941 | + 40.8% | 1 | 17,599 | + 13.3% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | BMW 5 Series | 1,998 | + 335.3% | 3 | 14,785 | – 8.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Mercedes GLC | 994 | + 185.6% | 6 | 6,040 | + 20.4% | 5 | 8 |
| 4 | Tesla Model Y | 793 | – 81.1% | 2 | 13,672 | + 103.2% | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Mercedes S Class | 680 | + 49.8% | 15 | 3,994 | – 52.8% | 11 | 4 |
| 6 | BMW X3 | 640 | + 114.0% | 8 | 4,206 | + 7.4% | 10 | 14 |
| 7 | BMW 3 Series | 622 | – 26.1% | 9 | 3,935 | – 17.4% | 12 | 9 |
| 8 | Lexus ES | 603 | + 29.7% | 10 | 5,187 | – 14.8% | 6 | 6 |
| 9 | Tesla Model 3 | 534 | + 53300.0% | 4 | 9,536 | + 1627.5% | 4 | n/a |
| 10 | Volvo XC60 | 528 | – 41.3% | 11 | 4,472 | + 10.1% | 8 | 10 |
| 11 | BMW X5 | 502 | + 7.5% | 14 | 4,544 | + 19.6% | 7 | 12 |
| 12 | Mercedes GLE | 493 | – 28.9% | 13 | 4,394 | – 10.5% | 9 | 7 |
| 13 | Lexus NX | 433 | + 94.2% | 16 | 2,795 | + 19.2% | 18 | 22 |
| 14 | BMW 6 Series | 421 | – 23.5% | 7 | 3,795 | – 16.7% | 13 | 11 |
| 15 | BMW 7 Series | 417 | + 13.3% | 19 | 3,046 | + 29.4% | 16 | 21 |
| 16 | BMW X7 | 408 | + 39.7% | 20 | 3,048 | + 13.4% | 15 | 18 |
| 17 | BMW X6 | 366 | + 32.1% | 25 | 2,489 | – 8.3% | 21 | 19 |
| 18 | BMW X4 | 354 | + 11.3% | 17 | 2,937 | – 31.5% | 17 | 13 |
| 19 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 338 | + 75.1% | 18 | 2,519 | + 571.7% | 20 | n/a |
| 20 | Volvo XC40 | 298 | + 189.3% | 27 | 1,896 | + 30.2% | 27 | 36 |
| 21 | Porsche Cayenne | 280 | + 94.4% | 29 | 2,753 | – 27.5% | 19 | 15 |
| 22 | VW ID.4 | 267 | + 20.3% | 5 | 2,119 | + 246.8% | 25 | n/a |
| 23 | Mercedes CLE | 248 | new | 12 | 2,280 | new | 22 | – |
| 24 | Toyota RAV4 | 238 | + 6.3% | 21 | 2,119 | – 1.9% | 26 | 25 |
| 25 | Mini Countryman | 233 | + 5.4% | 39 | 2,157 | + 10.0% | 23 | 27 |
| 26 | Mercedes GLS | 233 | + 356.9% | 35 | 1,225 | + 16.9% | 41 | 39 |
| 27 | BMW X1 | 195 | + 3.2% | n/a | 1,391 | + 71.1% | 31 | 38 |
| 28 | Range Rover | 190 | + 75.9% | 34 | 1,252 | – 36.9% | 38 | 30 |
| 29 | BMW 4 Series | 181 | + 31.2% | 26 | 1,195 | + 40.6% | 42 | n/a |
| 30 | VW Tiguan | 176 | – 56.5% | 40 | 1,250 | – 62.8% | 39 | 17 |
| 31 | Mini Cooper Hatch | 171 | – 27.5% | 47 | 2,153 | – 34.9% | 24 | 20 |
| 32 | Porsche Taycan | 166 | + 24.8% | n/a | 617 | – 47.1% | n/a | 40 |
| 33 | Audi Q8 | 157 | + 220.4% | 44 | 547 | + 173.5% | n/a | n/a |
| 34 | Mercedes A Class | 154 | + 1440.0% | n/a | 1,883 | + 231.5% | 28 | n/a |
| 35 | Mercedes G Class | 154 | + 46.7% | n/a | 1,235 | – 26.0% | 40 | 34 |
| 36 | VW Jetta | 153 | + 19.5% | 31 | 1,342 | + 94.2% | 35 | n/a |
| 37 | Lexus RX | 150 | – 2.0% | 45 | 1,343 | + 47.7% | 34 | n/a |
| 38 | BMW i4 | 138 | – 56.5% | 36 | 988 | – 50.8% | 47 | 33 |
| 39 | Volvo V60 Cross Country | 135 | + 13400.0% | n/a | 733 | + 90.9% | n/a | n/a |
| 40 | Toyota Camry | 133 | + 11.8% | 33 | 1,346 | – 9.4% | 32 | n/a |
| 41 | Porsche Panamera | 133 | – 22.2% | 24 | 1,000 | – 36.6% | 46 | n/a |
| 42 | Porsche 911 | 126 | + 5.9% | 22 | 1,097 | + 1.3% | 45 | n/a |
| 43 | Jeep Wrangler | 125 | – 0.8% | n/a | 877 | – 14.8% | 49 | n/a |
| 44 | VW Golf | 124 | – 37.4% | 43 | 753 | – 25.8% | n/a | n/a |
| 45 | Ford Explorer | 123 | n/a | 23 | 1,269 | + 7.1% | 37 | n/a |
| 46 | Mercedes C Class | 122 | – 64.7% | 28 | 3,294 | – 12.6% | 14 | 16 |
| 47 | BMW iX3 | 115 | – 75.4% | n/a | 1,345 | – 34.3% | 33 | 28 |
| 48 | Honda CR-V | 113 | + 117.3% | 49 | 789 | + 105.5% | n/a | n/a |
| 49 | Audi A6 | 109 | – 80.8% | 30 | 1,404 | – 77.9% | 30 | 5 |
| 50 | Land Rover Defender | 109 | + 43.4% | n/a | 817 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Source: KAMA
