Tesla Model Y Tops South Korea's May Car Sales, First Import to Claim No. 1

In May 2024, the Tesla Model Y sold 8,762 units in South Korea, becoming the best-selling new car of the month—the first time an imported model has topped South Korea’s new vehicle sales chart. Tesla’s total sales in the country that month reached 10,866 units, accounting for approximately 36.4% of all newly registered imported passenger vehicles. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), new registrations of imported passenger cars in South Korea totaled 29,860 units in May, up 5.9% year-over-year. Cumulative registrations for the first five months of 2024 reached 145,973 units, a 32.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Among imported brands, Tesla ranked first, followed by BMW with 6,555 units and Mercedes-Benz with 3,553 units; BYD came in seventh with 1,032 units. In the overall South Korean new car sales ranking for May, Kia’s Sorento and Hyundai’s Grandeur (Azera) placed second and third, respectively. Tesla CEO Elon Musk later shared the news on social media, commenting, “Korea is awesome.”