Korea rises as emerging market for luxury cars worth over $229,621

[Photo provided by Rolls-Royce]

More than 6,000 ultra-expensive passenger cars priced higher than 300 million won ($229,621) have been sold in South Korea, and global automakers that produce luxury, high-end vehicles are eyeing the country’s growing market.

According to the passenger car registration data obtained Tuesday from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport by Representative Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, the cumulative number of passenger cars with an acquisition value of more than 300 million won stood at 6,299 at the end of April this year.

The total number of passenger vehicles with an acquisition value ranging from 300 million to 500 million won was 5,006, personal and corporate vehicles combined, and the total number of vehicles over 500 million won was 1,293.

Passenger cars worth more than 300 million won sold in Korea are supercar and luxury car models of top foreign brands such as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Mercedes-Maybach. There are no domestic cars priced higher than 300 million won.

The growing trend of expensive passenger cars priced over 300 million won is also evident in the number of new vehicle registrations every year.

In 2016, the number of newly registered passenger cars with an acquisition value of 300 million to 500 million won was 199, but jumped to 1,115 last year, a 5.6-fold increase in six years. The number of passenger cars over 500 million won jumped 10 times to 267 from 25 over the same period.

Until April this year, the number of vehicles priced between 300 million and 500 million won increased to 323 from 237 a year ago and those over 500 million won to 77 from 71.

While the number of new registrations may not match the total number of registrations as it also includes cases where vehicles expunged in a particular year are re-registered in another year, it still shows a similar trend to the growing market for imported luxury cars in Korea.

Corporate ownership of such ultra-expensive cars is remarkably high. The government is pushing to introduce a special license plate for corporate cars as criticism grows that supercars are often purchased in the name of a company and used for personal use.

Global manufacturers of high-end vehicles are eyeing the growing trend in the Korean market.

Bentley Motor Ltd., a British luxury car manufacturer, noted the increase in Bentley sales in Korea and emphasized the country’s importance an emerging market when its top executives including Chairman Adrian Hallmark visited Seoul in March.

Last year, Bentley Motor sold 775 units in Korea, the largest in the Asia-Pacific region. Sales in Korea accounted for approximately 38 percent of Bentley‘s entire Asia-Pacific sales of 2,031 units last year.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars also sold record 234 units in Korea last year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA).

Other global luxury car makers are also scrambling to penetrate the Korean market. Italian automotive brand Ferrari S.p.A. opened its Universo Ferrari exhibition that featured its vehicle history in Korea last month for the first time in Asia, and supercar brand Aston Martin recently held its first new car launch event in Korea, personally rather than through a dealership.