Kia beats Hyundai in Jan.-Sept. car sales, BMW elbows out Benz

[Photo provided by Kia Corp.]

South Korea’s Kia Corp. is set to finish the year as the No. 1 finished car seller at home after beating out its long-time bigger sibling Hyundai Motor Co., thanks to strong demand for its popular SUVs and diverse vehicle lineup appealing to a wide range of consumers.

According to local market tracker CarIsYou Data Lab on Thursday, Kia sold a total of 350,668 vehicles up to September this year, above Hyundai Motor’s 291,378 units. The long-time No. 2 auto brand is solidifying its top position in Korea.

Industry experts are closely watching whether Kia’s total car shipments for this year could outpace Hyundai and Genesis’s combined car sales. Hyundai Motor and Genesis sold a combined 390,361 units in the January-September period, about 30,000 units larger than Kia’s sales.

[Photo provided by BMW Korea]

SsangYong Motor Co. on track to safely graduate court this month is expanding its market share rapidly as well with its popular Torres SUV. The newest Torres, released in July this year, sold the third largest vehicles in the passenger car segment in Korea, beating out long-time bestselling models including Avante, Grandeur and Sportage at home.

On the back to the strong sales of Torres, SsangYong Motor sold 11,322 cars in total in September – 7,675 units at home and 3,647 units abroad. Its sales exceeded 10,000 units for three consecutive months for the first time since December 2000.

“Torres proved that finished vehicle brands, other than Hyundai and Kia, also are able to outperform the two, if their cars are priced at a reasonable level with better quality,” said an industry official.

In the import car market, BMW has elbowed out the six years-long leader Mercedes-Benz with sales of 57,756 units in the first three quarters.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]