Chinese-made Tesla Model Y Becomes South Korea's Best-Selling EV in 2023, Sales Surge 169% YoY

According to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), as cited by foreign media, South Korea registered 220,177 new electric vehicles (EVs) in 2023, a 50.1% year-over-year increase, accounting for 13.1% of total new vehicle registrations. Tesla ranked second in EV registrations with 59,893 units, trailing only Kia. Notably, of Tesla’s vehicles sold in South Korea, 50,397 were Model Y units produced at its Shanghai Gigafactory—a staggering 169.2% year-over-year increase. This made the Shanghai-made Model Y not only the best-selling individual EV model in the South Korean market but also more than double the sales of the second-place Kia EV3, which recorded 21,254 units. This underscores the growing competitive strength of domestically produced Tesla Model Y vehicles in overseas markets.