South Korea February 2026 vehicle sales decline amid fewer business days

Domestic Market Performance in February 2026

South Korea February 2026 vehicle sales totaled 95,638 units, marking a 14.8% decline compared with the same month in the previous year. The drop was largely attributed to the Lunar New Year holiday period in 2026, which reduced the number of business days in February by three compared with the prior year. This shorter selling window affected dealership activity and overall consumer purchasing across the domestic automotive market.

Five Korean automakers reported their monthly results, reflecting varying levels of decline across brands despite stable market leadership among the largest manufacturers.

Market Share by Automaker

Hyundai Motor retained its leading position in the domestic market with sales of 47,008 units, accounting for a 49.2% market share. However, the automaker experienced a significant year-over-year decline of 17.8%. Kia followed in second place with 42,002 units sold, representing a 43.9% market share and an 8.7% decrease compared with the previous year.

KG Mobility recorded notable growth during the month, with sales rising 38.3% year-over-year to 3,701 units and capturing a 3.9% share of the domestic market.

Declines Among Other Automakers

Renault Korea experienced a sharp decline, with sales falling 59.0% year-over-year to 2,000 units, while GM Korea reported domestic sales of 927 units, representing a 37.4% decrease compared with February of the previous year.

Global Sales Trends and Model Rankings

Overseas sales performance varied across the five manufacturers. Hyundai reported a 2.3% decline in exports and overseas shipments, while Kia recorded a 1.5% drop. GM Korea’s overseas sales decreased by 6.5%, and KG Mobility saw a 21.5% reduction. In contrast, Renault Korea achieved strong export growth, with overseas sales increasing by 55.4%. Combined overseas sales for the five companies reached 506,657 units, representing a 2.3% year-over-year decline.

Global sales results also showed mixed outcomes. Hyundai sold 306,528 units worldwide, down 5.1% year-over-year, while Kia recorded 247,007 units, a 2.8% decrease. GM Korea delivered 36,630 units globally, declining 7.6%, and KG Mobility reported 8,237 units, down 2.6%. Renault Korea’s global sales fell sharply by 36.2% to 3,893 units. Combined global sales for the five companies totaled 602,295 units, reflecting a 4.6% year-over-year decline.

For the first two months of 2026, Hyundai recorded global sales of 615,088 units, down 3.0% year-over-year, while Kia delivered 492,437 units, decreasing 0.3%. GM Korea posted growth of 14.1% to 81,333 units, KG Mobility increased 3.3% to 17,073 units, and Renault Korea declined 23.1% to 7,625 units. In the domestic model rankings for February, Kia’s Sorento SUV led the market with 7,693 units sold, followed by Hyundai’s Porter light-duty truck with 4,634 units and the Hyundai Sonata sedan with 4,436 units.