The Korean Trend is Confirmed

Indeed, among the best selling brands on the new home market for the first quarter of 2012, found that the Kia brand is placed in second position with 275 vehicles behind leader Toyota, with 290 vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Dealers Association ( MVDA). 

Nissan ranks in third position with 263 vehicles, followed by Hyundai and Chevrolet with 185 sales, 130 sales. The three Korean brands namely, Kia, Hyundai and Chevrolet, and place themselves in the best auto sales, but Toyota is the undisputed leader in the utility vehicle segment. 

The trend is even more striking in the car segment (Passenger Vehicles) according to MVDA. Indeed, the Kia brand is placed in car segment leader, far ahead, with 261 cars sold during the first quarter of 2012 followed by Hyundai with 176 cars. The first segment of Japan's Nissan car that is placed in third position with 170 cars sold, followed by Chevrolet with 130 sales. Mercedes moves into fifth position with 91 sales.

 In addition, the new home market shows an increase of 30%, with 2300 sales, compared to the first quarter of last year with nearly 1,900 sales. The market for used vehicles, for its part, is almost stagnant, with 1,200 vehicles sold during the first quarter of 2012 representing a small increase of 2% over the same period last year. 

Current trends in the automotive market s 'due to the fact that Korean is more comfortable with a value very advantageous. Moreover, the introduction of aggressive pricing policies make it very interesting new cars and warranties that range from 2 to 7 years, reassure the customer to purchase a vehicle in good condition. 

As explained Gilles Lalanne, President of the MVDA, the segment that allows this growth is that of small cars, that is to say from 1000 to 1600cc cars, favoured by the carbon tax introduced by the government and the supply problems for second-hand vehicles the local market. Thus, for the first quarter of 2012, the 1000-1600cc segment grew by 45% with 1,027 vehicles sold against 690 for the same period in 2011. 

Top 10 car segment

 (Q1 2012)  

1. KIA                     261
2. HYUNDAI             176 
3. NISSAN                169 
4. CHEVROLET       129
5. MERCEDES         91 
6. SUZUKI                 83
7. HONDA                 81 
8. TOYOTA                81
9. CITROEN              74
10. BMW                      71

(Source: NTA) 

Top 10 brands of all types of vehicles

(Q1 2012) 

1. TOYOTA                289 
2. KIA                         274
3. NISSAN                263 
4. HYUNDAI             185
5. CHEVROLET       129
6. MITSUBISHI         98 
7. FORD                     93
8. MERCEDES         91
9. CITROEN              83
10. SUZUKI                 83

(Source: NTA)