EVwire brief: Tesla just pulled off a historic first in South Korea. For the first time ever, the American EV maker has ranked as the #1 imported car brand on a quarterly basis, effectively shattering the long-standing dominance of players like BMW. Not just in EVs — across vehicles of all fuel types.
The Q1 2026 Leaderboard:
Tesla: 20,964 units
BMW: 19,368 units
Mercedes-Benz: 15,862 units
Tesla registrations in March skyrocketed 330% year-over-year to 11,134 units, according to Carisyou data. That single-month sprint was enough to catapult Tesla past BMW and Mercedes for the quarter.
Tesla has become South Korea’s top imported vehicle maker (Credit to TslaChan on X for this graphic)
This appears to be a structural shift in South Korea’s imported-vehicle market. While the market was historically a playground for BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Volvo, the landscape has officially consolidated into a new "triopoly" centered on BMW, Mercedes, and Tesla.
This also means that South Korea is well on its way to going fully electric.
Industry watchers (and the Chosun Daily) point to a few specific catalysts:
A fleet of Tesla Model Y units is waiting for delivery in South Korea
The China Pivot: Much of this growth is credited to Tesla’s pricing strategy, specifically the introduction of lower-cost Model Y variants produced at Giga Shanghai. These LFP-powered models have made the brand significantly more accessible in Korea’s price-sensitive EV segment.
Product Expansion: The upcoming launch of the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L is expected to keep the momentum high throughout 2026. Previews of the Model Y L in some Tesla stores in South Korea saw long lines of visitors checking out the vehicle. The Model Y L is priced at 64.99 million won,
The Tesla Model Y L is seeing a lot of interest among South Korean car shoppers (H/T @gurmi0526 on X)
Software Edge: South Korea remains one of the few global markets with access to Full Self-Driving (Supervised), though for now, it remains limited to US-made Model S and Model X units. Despite this, Tesla owners have cumulatively traveled 8 million km (4.97 million miles) on FSD (Supervised) in just 100 days.
Last year, Tesla finished third (59,916 units) behind Mercedes (68,467) and the reigning champ, BMW (77,127). If Q1 is any indication, the 2026 year-end rankings of South Korea’s imported vehicle market might look different.
Source: Reuters and Chosun Daily
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