
The number one domestic imported car brand is Mercedes-Benz. It is said that the formula of’Imported Cars = Mercedes’ has been established while maintaining the position of’No. 1 in Imports’ for 5 consecutive years.
Separating into sedans and SUVs, the formula of’Imported Cars = Mercedes’ is half correct and half wrong. The sedan market was dominated by Mercedes, the number one imported car.
BMW, which has been in the’second place’ since 2016, took the first place in the SUV market by holding Mercedes-Benz. Thanks to strong SUV sales, it has also retaken the No. 1 position.
This is the result of analyzing the number of registered cars by brand by the Imported Automobile Association (KAIDA) on the 6th by Maekyung.com and statistics by imported car type published by the Kaizuyu Data Research Institute.
According to the registration status of the Imported Cars Association, Mercedes-Benz Korea sold a total of 76879 units in Korea last year. It maintained the No. 1 position in Imports for 5 consecutive years The market share of imported cars is 27.9%.
In January this year, the number one spot was also held by Mercedes Korea. The number of units sold was 5,918. It increased 7.8% from the same period last year.
BMW Korea closely followed Mercedes with a 111.1% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. The number of units sold was only 5717 units, which is only a difference between 201 units and Mercedes Korea.
Benz takes over’sedan market’ with E-class

The secret that Benz Korea was able to maintain the No. 1 position despite the fierce pursuit of BMW Korea is in’taking over the sedan’.
According to the Kaizuyu Data Research Institute, which calculates statistics for each vehicle type based on the automobile registration data of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, in January, the mid-sized sedan Mercedes E-Class ranked first in sales of imported cars with 2760 units.
About half of the total sales of Mercedes-Benz Korea was for the Mercedes E-Class. Benz Korea was fed. Its rival, the BMW 5 Series, ranked second with 1730 units, less than 1030 units.
The Mercedes-Benz A-Class, a small sedan and hatchback, sold 832 units, the second most sold among Mercedes models. Only 260 units of the rival BMW 1 Series were sold.
The BMW 3 Series ranked 5th with 593 units and beat the Mercedes C-Class, which only ranked 26th with 250 units, but it was not enough to catch the Mercedes in the imported sedan market.

In the data of Imports Association’s’January Best Selling Car 10′, the Mercedes E250 was ranked first with 1205 units. The Mercedes E350 4matic finished second with 802 units. The BMW 520 came in third with 622 units and the BMW 530 with 413 units in eighth place.
The Mercedes A220 sedan finished sixth with 430 units. It is the only imported compact car to land in the top 10. In contrast, the BMW 1-series model was not in the top 10.
Unlike the Mercedes C-Class, which was pushed out of the rankings, the BMW 320 ranked ninth with 369 units, but it was not enough for the Mercedes.
BMW to hold’Hemp Benz’ in imported SUV market

BMW Korea, who suffered a devastating defeat in the sedan, hurt Mercedes Korea in the SUV market.
According to the registration statistics for each vehicle type in January, compiled by the Kaizu-U Data Research Institute, the number of SUVs sold by Mercedes-Benz Korea is 1418. BMW Korea SUV sold 2024 units during the same period.
Mercedes-Benz Korea ranked 7th with the Mercedes GLC (467 units), beating its rival BMW X3 (301 units), and was the most sold among the Mercedes-BMW SUV models, but lacking back feeling. In addition, the Mercedes GLC, which is Mercedes’ hope, has a 57.9% decrease in the number of units sold than the previous year.
In contrast, BMW X5 (466 units) ranked 8th with a difference of 1 unit from the Mercedes GLC, and BMW X6 (415 units) ranked 9th. The number of units sold for the two models increased by 9.9% and 32.6%, respectively, from the previous month. Competitive Mercedes GLE sold only 23 units, down 101% from the previous month.
The youngest SUV, the BMW X1 (388 units), also played a role. It was 31.1% higher than the previous month, and it sold more than three times the Mercedes GLA (120 units).
Mercedes GLB (337 units) exploded 426.6% from the previous month, but it was only a’typhoon in a cup’.

An industry insider said, “Because Mercedes is gaining popularity among those in their 40s and 60s with high preference for sedans and big players in the imported car market because of its elegant and luxurious image.”
The official also said about BMW, “Since entering the SUV market in the 1990s, various `X families such as X1·X3·X5·X7 (SAV (Sports Activity Vehicles)) as well as X2, X4, X6 (Sports Activity Coupe) (SACs) He analyzed that he is leading the premium SUV market by introducing the lineup.”
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