Tesla Leads Electric Car Sales In South Korea Thanks To Model 3

Tesla Inc. TSLA has dominated the rise in electric vehicle sales in South Korea this year as of April, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.

What Happened

The Palo Alto-based automaker sold 4,075 cars in the country in April alone, according to the data earlier reported by Korea Bizwire. This compares with the 236 units Tesla sold in the same month last year.

South Korean electric vehicles saw a 4.4% increase in sales at 10,161 units.

Tesla also made up for a majority of imported electric vehicles in the country, and sales of other foreign companies declined.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. NSANY electric vehicle sales dropped 60.6% year-on-year to 99 vehicles, and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG BAMXF sold 53 vehicles, down 3.6% YoY.

Tesla was the third-largest importer of cars in South Korea overall, not just the electric vehicles, behind Mercedes-Benz's 15,400 units and BMW's 11,331, as noted earlier by the Korea Herald.

The automaker saw increased sales following the launch of its Model 3 vehicles in November last year. The model's price starts at $26,000 in the country, including government subsidies, making it more affordable than the Model S and Model X versions that were available in the country earlier.

Tesla Price Action

Tesla shares closed 0.17% higher at $820.23 on Wednesday. The shares traded 0.7% lower at $814.40 in the after-hours session.