In Korea, Genesis snubs BMW to rival Mercedes in premium segment
In South Korea, German luxury auto brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz have for years been the top two brands competing to win the hearts of rich car buyers, who typically ignore local brands such as Hyundai Motor Co. or Kia Corp.
On Tuesday, however, an industry survey came as a surprise to many who long to own a foreign brand as a status symbol. Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis beat BMW to become the top two along with Mercedes-Benz for car buyers to compare at the point of purchase.
According to an annual survey by ConsumerInsight, a Korean research firm, the Genesis emerged as the strongest candidate to compete with market leader Mercedes-Benz for a purchase.
ConsumerInsight’s latest survey of 1,375 premium car buyers from July 2022 to June 2023 showed that 14.7% of the respondents said they agonize over what to buy between Mercedes and Genesis, meaning nearly 15 out of 100 new luxury car buyers are torn between the two before their final decision.
The choice between Mercedes and BMW came in second with 13.2%, followed by Genesis-BMW (9.9%), Genesis-Volvo (4%) and Genesis-Audi (3.4%).
“When Koreans think of buying a new luxury car, long-standing names such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo first came to mind for years. Now, they are thinking of Genesis cars as pretty strong alternatives to such brands,” said a ConsumerInsight official.
BMW OVER MERCEDES AMONG IMPORTED VEHICLES
Among imported luxury vehicles, BMW was the top pick among new car buyers, coming ahead of Mercedes-Benz with the final choice ratio of 53-47 between the two, the survey showed.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), BMW sold 77,395 vehicles in 2023 to overtake Mercedes-Benz. BMW regained the top spot in Korea’s foreign automobile sales segment for the first time in eight years.
Mercedes lost ground to BMW throughout last year despite its attempt to turn the tables with aggressive year-end discounts. It was dethroned by BMW with annual sales of 76,697 units.
Last December, Mercedes-Benz Korea said it is bringing its latest flagship model, the 2024 E-Class sedan, to Korea to continue its strong sales seen in past years.
The E-Class has been dubbed the “Gangnam Sonata” in Korea, meaning the most common sedan sold in the upper-class district of Gangnam, in southern Seoul. Sonata is the name of Hyundai Motor’s top-selling sedan.
AUDI KEEPS LOSING GROUND
Latest KAIDA data showed BMW beat the world’s No. 1 electric vehicle seller Tesla Inc. to become the top imported EV seller in Korea thanks to its diverse lineup of new EV models.
BMW sells 11 EV models in Korea, far more than Tesla’s four.
Last October, BMW Group premiered its fully revamped eighth-generation 5 Series sedan in Korea – an indication of the growing importance of the Asian country in the luxury segment.
Audi, another German luxury brand, has steadily lost its ground in Korea.
The latest ConsumerInsight survey showed only 3.4% of new luxury car buyers thought of the Audi-Genesis comparison before their final purchase decision.
Audi’s Korean market share fell to 4.8% in 2023, down from 8.9% in the previous year.
Analysts said the rise of the Genesis as the top candidate for new premium car purchases in Korea is partly due to its price competitiveness and the aging of its foreign competitive models.
“The Genesis is solidifying its position as Korea’s sole premium brand. However, it remains to be seen if the uptrend will continue as the Genesis doesn’t have a new flagship model scheduled to roll out this year,” said an executive at ConsumerInsight.
Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
