Sorento tops Korea's car sales through Q3, Tesla Model Y closes gap to 2,500 units

The Kia Sorento was the best-selling passenger car in South Korea's new-vehicle market through the first nine months of this year, with the Tesla Model Y closing to within about 2,500 units to claim second place overall among both domestic and imported models. Hyundai Motor's Grandeur and Kia's Carnival followed.

According to cumulative new-vehicle registration data for the third quarter of 2026 released Thursday by Carisyou Data Research Institute, the Sorento recorded 75,661 units from January through September, up 1.5 percent from the same period last year.

The Model Y came in second with 73,125 new registrations over the same period, up 97.4 percent from a year earlier. The gap separating it from the top-ranked Sorento stands at just 2,536 units, setting up a rare contest in which an imported model is challenging a domestic flagship for the annual cumulative registration lead.

The Grandeur ranked third with 62,750 units, up 25.9 percent year on year. The Kia Carnival placed fourth at 46,975 units and the Sportage fifth at 46,497 units, though both models posted declines — down 25.5 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively, from the prior-year period.

The Hyundai Motor Sonata ranked sixth with 42,202 units, followed by the Avante in seventh at 39,873 units. The Kia Seltos (39,457 units), Kia Ray (37,911 units) and Hyundai Motor Santa Fe (31,212 units) rounded out positions eight through ten. The Model Y was the only imported model in the overall top 10.

The Model Y's strong showing reflects the broader growth of both the import and electric vehicle markets this year.

New registrations of domestically produced passenger cars fell 9.5 percent year on year to 828,576 units in the January-to-September period, while imported passenger car registrations rose 24.3 percent to 280,282 units. Combined domestic and imported passenger car registrations totaled about 1.11 million units, down 2.8 percent.

Tesla also led the import market by brand. The company registered 89,160 vehicles through September, up 104.3 percent from the same period last year, well ahead of BMW at 57,930 units and Mercedes-Benz at 43,241 units. The Model Y accounted for a significant share of Tesla's total registrations. Chinese automaker BYD also surged 567.2 percent to 20,137 units, climbing to fourth place among imported passenger car brands.

Electric vehicles stood out by fuel type as well. New EV registrations from January through September reached 297,377 units, up 74.4 percent from last year, lifting EVs' share of all new-vehicle registrations to 24.0 percent. Over the same period, gasoline-powered car registrations fell 17.3 percent to 471,815 units, while diesel vehicles plunged 51.9 percent to 39,439 units. Hybrid registrations also slipped 3.3 percent to 329,520 units.

The overall new-vehicle market contracted. Combined passenger and commercial vehicle registrations for the first nine months of the year totaled about 1.24 million units, down 2.9 percent from the same period last year, with passenger cars off 2.8 percent and commercial vehicles down 3.3 percent.

Within the shrinking market, however, fortunes diverged sharply by model. The Kia EV3 rose 39.5 percent to 26,139 units and the Hyundai Motor Ioniq 5 gained 31.6 percent to 16,065 units. By contrast, some established models posted steep double-digit declines — the Palisade fell 41.2 percent, the Tucson 40.1 percent, the Avante 34.9 percent and the Santa Fe 31.9 percent.