Tesla Accounts For Majority Of EV Sales In South Korea This Year: Report

Tesla Inc TSLA has registered substantial growth in South Korea this year due to increasing demand for electric vehicles in the country, Yonhap News Agency reported Monday (Seoul time).

What Happened: The Elon Musk-led automaker sold 10,518 vehicles in the country between January and September — making up for 79.6% of electric vehicle sales in the country, according to industry data reported by Yonhap.

In September, Tesla sold 2,056 vehicles, accounting for 91% of all South Korean EV sales in the month.

Tesla sells Model 3, Model S, and Model X vehicles in South Korea priced at $44,000, $102,600, and $108,900 respectively, noted Yonhap.

Customers of the lower-priced models can reportedly avail of subsidies to the tune of $7,200 from the central and $9,000 from the provincial governments.

Why It Matters: This month, it was reported that Tesla is the only automaker that saw sales growth in Germany, beating its domestic and international rivals like Bayerische Motoren Werke AG BMWYY and Volkswagen AG VWAGY.

South Korea-based automaker giant Hyundai Motor Co HYMTF could prove to be a major competitor to Tesla, with its dedicated “Ioniq” brand of battery EVs — unveiled in August.

Local battery maker LG Chem Ltd, which counts Tesla among its clients, emerged as the lead supplier of batteries for EVs in the first half of 2020.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed almost 2% lower at $439.67 on Friday and fell 0.33% in the after-hours session.