Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
REPORTERSNOTEBOOK Mercedes-Benz Korea’s market position threatened by stunning rise of Porsche, Tesla
Investigators from police and fire authorities and officials from Mercedes-Benz conduct an inspection into the carmaker's EQE sedan, which burst into fire for unconfirmed reasons, in Incheon, Aug. 8, 2024. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
The once-prevailing glory of Mercedes-Benz Korea is being challenged by the rapid ascent of Porsche and Tesla, cementing their reputations as highly sought-after electric vehicle (EV) brands in the imported car market.
The local subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz still remains one of the two top-selling foreign carmakers here, along with BMW Korea, but it appears increasingly unlikely to retain its former glory in the rapidly emerging EV industry.
Multiple data showed the robust rally of Porsche and Tesla here. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Tesla Korea was the nation’s third-largest overseas carmaker in terms of sales in 2024, outpacing Volkswagen Korea, which secured the spot the previous year. Porsche Korea took fourth place.
Mercedes-Benz Korea came in second in sales last year, losing the top spot to BMW Korea. The former also reported the biggest annual sales drop from a year earlier among the top six foreign carmakers here, which also includes Volvo Car Korea.
The steep sales fall of Mercedes-Benz Korea is attributable to the weakening popularity of its S-Class high-end sedans and frozen customer sentiment for the carmaker’s EV lineups after it was mired in a nationwide scandal last year regarding a devastating fire from its EQE electric sedan.
Customers’ sentiment toward the carmaker’s EVs shows no signs of recovering. Given that Tesla Korea achieved sales growth in 2024 from a year earlier, Mercedes-Benz Korea may end up giving more of its EV ground to Tesla and other luxury carmakers unless it rapidly wins back customers' trust.
“The popularity of Tesla’s Model Y and Porsche’s Taycan appears not to be shaken anytime soon in the local high-end EV market,” an official from the auto industry said.
This is evidenced by their EV sales here. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, Tesla topped the list by selling 6,265 EVs between January and April this year. BMW Korea came in second with EV sales of 1,880. Porsche Korea came in fourth with EV sales of 915.
However, Mercedes-Benz Korea sold only 512 EVs during the same period, falling far short of its arch-rival BMW Korea.
It may take some time for the German luxury carmaker to regain trust for its EV business here, but it should be one of the carmaker’s top priorities to bring back its glory.