Import cars offer discounts in Korea to boost demand

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Audi e-tron S

Import carmakers in South Korea are rolling out unusual offers early in the year, with hopes to boost demand in the slowing market.

According to Getcha, an online car sale platform, on Monday, more than half of imported car models were offering discounts of 10 percent or more.

Among the 898 models offered by 17 major import carmakers, including BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz AG, and Audi AG Co., 461 models are being sold at discounts of 10 percent or more.

The figure is a 14-percentage-point increase compared to the same period last year when 37.3 percent of car models were sold with discounts higher than 10 percent.

Offers are made particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) segment.

Eight out of the 14 models offering discounts of over 20 percent are EV models.

For example, the Audi e-tron S is being offered at a 23.5 percent discounted price, while the Mercedes-Benz EQS 350+ and BMW i5 eDrive 40 are being sold at discounts of 20.3 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively.

The Ministry of Environment has revised the national subsidy system for EV purchases this year, fully supporting subsidies only for EVs priced at 55 million won ($41,200) or under.

This is believed to have reduced the demand for EVs, which are about 30 percent more expensive than equivalent internal combustion engine cars.

By Moon Gwang-min and Chang Iou-chung