September 23, 2026

Tesla Tops South Korea Import Sales for Seventh Straight Month

tesla model y

Tesla held the lead in South Korea sales of imported cars for a seventh straight month in August, with the Model Y outselling every passenger vehicle in the country.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), Tesla registered 10,400 vehicles last month, more than BMW (6,180) and Mercedes-Benz (4,037) combined. It was the third time this year Tesla has beaten the two German brands together, after April and May.

With that success, Tesla’s share of imported passenger cars rose to 34.9%, volume was up 30.4% from a year earlier, and claimed its sixth straight month above 10,000 registrations.

The Model Y accounted for 9,638 of those, about a third of every imported car registered in the country in August. The Model Y Premium led all imported models with 7,490, followed by 1,746 Model Y L and 402 Model Y Premium Long Range units.

That was enough to beat Kia’s Sorento, the top domestic model, which posted 6,397 registrations. The 3,241-unit gap is the widest of three months this year the Model Y has led the overall sales chart, after May and July.

As we previously reported, the Model Y returned to the top in July with 8,705 registrations, just ahead of the Hyundai Grandeur. Tesla first took the import lead in the first quarter with 20,964 deliveries, then set a monthly record in April at 13,190 vehicles.

Through August, Tesla has registered 76,776 vehicles in South Korea, up 122.3% from 34,543 a year earlier. The Model Y’s 61,702 year-to-date total sits 6,274 behind the Sorento with four months left.

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