South Korea Vehicle Sales 2025 Hit Post-Crisis Low

Recently, South Korea vehicle sales 2025 data highlighted continued pressure on the domestic auto market, despite selective gains by leading manufacturers. Five major Korean automakers reported combined domestic new vehicle sales of 115,815 units in December, reflecting a 2.5% year-on-year decline. For the full year, domestic sales reached 1,366,344 units, a modest 0.7% increase compared with the previous year, yet the weakest annual result since the global financial crisis.
The slowdown was partly influenced by intensifying competition from imported brands, with strong demand for electric vehicles from global players weighing on domestic OEM performance. While overall volumes stabilized slightly, market momentum remained uneven across manufacturers.
Domestic Market Performance in South Korea Vehicle Sales 2025
Among local automakers, Hyundai Motor retained its leadership position, recording domestic sales of 712,954 units in 2025. This represented a 1.1% year-on-year increase and translated into a 52.2% market share. Kia followed with 545,776 units sold, also growing by 1.1% and capturing 39.9% of the domestic market.
Mid-tier players delivered mixed results:

• Renault Korea achieved the strongest growth, with sales surging 31.3% to 52,271 units

• KGM experienced a 14.4% decline to 40,249 units

• GM Korea saw sales fall sharply by 39.2% to 15,094 units

These results underline widening performance gaps within the domestic market as consumer preferences continue to shift.
Overseas and Export Trends in South Korea Vehicle Sales 2025
Overseas sales, including exports, reflected a similarly mixed trajectory. Combined overseas volumes from the five automakers declined marginally by 0.3% year over year, totaling 6,562,739 units.
Performance by brand varied considerably:

• Hyundai overseas sales slipped by 0.3%

• Kia recorded a 1.6% increase

• GM Korea volumes fell by 5.8%

• Renault Korea exports dropped sharply by 46.7%

• KGM expanded overseas sales by 12.7%

These figures indicate that export growth opportunities remain selective and highly dependent on regional demand conditions.
Global Sales Snapshot and Model-Level Highlights
At the global level, total sales across domestic and overseas markets edged down by 0.2% to 7,929,083 units in 2025. Hyundai’s global sales declined slightly to 4,138,180 units, while Kia posted a 1.5% increase to 3,130,014 units. GM Korea, Renault Korea, and KGM recorded varied results, reflecting ongoing restructuring and market realignment efforts.
On the product front, Kia dominated South Korea’s top-selling models list in 2025. The midsize SUV Sorento ranked first with 100,002 units, becoming the brand’s first model to surpass the 100,000-unit annual sales mark since its 2002 launch. The MPV Carnival followed with 78,218 units, while the compact SUV Sportage secured third place with 74,517 units, underscoring sustained demand for SUVs and family-oriented vehicles.