Tesla outsells BMW and Mercedes-Benz combined in Q3

Tesla registers 33,009 units in Q3, capturing 34.5% share

Outsells BMW and Benz combined by 757 units

Model Y alone tops 11,421 units in September

EVs account for 52% of imported car sales in September

Tesla Model Y. [Captured from Tesla Korea website]

Tesla has overtaken both BMW and Mercedes-Benz in South Korea's imported car market — simultaneously. More than one in three imported passenger cars registered in the third quarter was a Tesla, and the brand's total registrations exceeded those of the two German premium brands combined. With the Model Y surpassing 10,000 monthly registrations, a surge in EV sales is rapidly shifting the center of gravity in the import market.

According to KAIDA data compiled Tuesday, a total of 95,697 imported passenger cars were newly registered in South Korea from July through September. Monthly figures broke down to 30,976 units in July, 29,817 in August and 34,904 in September.

Of those, Tesla alone accounted for 33,009 registrations in the third quarter — 10,237 in July, 10,400 in August and 12,372 in September, marking three consecutive months above the 10,000-unit threshold. Tesla's share of all imported cars in the quarter reached 34.5%, meaning more than one in three imported vehicles was a Tesla.

Tesla also surpassed the combined sales of the two dominant German premium brands. During the same period, BMW registered 18,779 units and Mercedes-Benz 13,473, for a combined total of 32,252 — 757 fewer than Tesla's tally.

In third-quarter market share, Tesla held approximately 34.5% against a combined 33.7% for BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Just a year ago, the German brands led the import market; now a single EV brand has flipped that hierarchy.

Mercedes-Benz E 200 Exclusive. [Provided by Mercedes-Benz Korea]

Tesla's dominance was equally striking in September alone. The brand registered 12,372 units, capturing 35.45 percent of all imported car sales to claim the top spot by a wide margin. BMW followed with 6,066 units and Mercedes-Benz with 5,477. Tesla's September figure exceeded the combined registrations of BMW and Mercedes-Benz — 11,543 units — by 829 vehicles.

The Model Y was the driving force behind the surge. September registrations for the Model Y reached 11,421 units, the highest of any imported model. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class came in second with 2,733 units, followed by the BMW 5 Series with 1,781. Registrations of the Model Y alone were roughly 1.9 times the total sales of the entire BMW brand for the month.

Among individual variants, the Model Y L led with 8,690 units, while the Model Y Premium recorded 2,467. The Mercedes-Benz E 200 followed with 2,133 units and the BMW 520 with 1,204.

Tesla's momentum is even more pronounced on a cumulative basis. From January through September, Tesla registered 89,148 units, a 104.4% jump from the same period last year. Its share of the overall imported car market climbed to 31.87%, an expansion of more than 12 percentage points from 19.35% in the same period last year.

Over the same January-to-September period, BMW registered 57,929 units, up just 0.2%, while Mercedes-Benz posted 43,249 units, a 10.4% decline. Chinese EV maker BYD jumped 578.7% year on year to 20,137 units, lifting its market share to 7.2%.

Electric vehicles are also driving growth across the broader import market. Imported EV registrations from January through September totaled 132,582 units, up 99.8% from the same period last year, accounting for 47.4% of all imported passenger cars. Hybrids, by contrast, fell 5.3% to 120,611 units, while gasoline models declined 14.6%.

In September, EVs crossed the majority threshold. Monthly EV registrations reached 18,181 units, up 41.0% from a year earlier, representing 52.1% of all imported car sales. Hybrids fell 17.9% to 13,620 units.

The import market as a whole is also expanding. September's 34,904 new registrations marked a 17.1% increase from the previous month and a 6.3% rise from a year earlier. Cumulative registrations from January through September reached 279,729 units, up 24.1% from the same period last year.

Jung Yun-young, vice chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, said September's increase from the prior month was driven by improved supply from some brands, a range of new model launches and active marketing efforts.

kwater@heraldcorp.com