SUVs, RVs dominate S. Korea’s Q1 car sales

Kia Sorento

South Korea’s automotive market, recreational vehicles (RVs), particularly sports utility vehicles (SUVs), have dominated the sales charts in the first quarter of this year, underscoring a changing consumer preference with a clear tilt towards larger, more versatile vehicles.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), the top four best-selling cars from January to March included the Kia Sorento with 26,929 units, Hyundai Santa Fe with 23,313 units, Kia Carnival with 22,681 units, and Kia Sportage with 19,661 units. Each of these models features the existence of a hybrid variant.

Sedans were pushed out of the top five sales rankings for the first time in the past five years, based on first-quarter data. The Grandeur, a popular sedan model, sold 13,698 units, landing in the sixth position.