New registrations of imported passenger vehicles fell 2.9 percent to 263,288 units in 2024, down from 271,034 units the previous year. This follows a 4.4 percent decline in 2023.
The figures would look even grimmer without Tesla, which was included in KAIDA’s statistics for the first time this year. Tesla sold 29,750 units in South Korea in 2024. Excluding Tesla’s numbers, the imported car market would have posted a sharp 13.8 percent decline year-over-year.
The last time the imported car market saw two consecutive years of decline was during the financial crisis in the late 1990s. In the years since, the market has shown remarkable resilience, recovering swiftly after single-year downturns in 2009, 2016, and 2019.
Industry insiders attribute the recent slump to broader economic challenges. “The contraction reflects weakened consumer sentiment due to the economic downturn,” one expert said. “This isn’t limited to Korea but is part of a global trend, making a quick recovery unlikely.”
Among the hardest-hit brands was Audi, which fell to seventh place in 2024, with annual sales dipping below 10,000 units for the first time in seven years.
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