In South Korea's April imported passenger car new registrations, Chinese cars ranked 3rd, surpassing Japanese cars for the first time. China's Global Times reported on the 1st, citing South Korea's Yonhap News.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), the number of new imported passenger car registrations in April was 16,385 units for European cars, 13,611 units for American cars, 2,023 units for Chinese cars, and 1,974 units for Japanese cars, in that order.

It is worth noting that, looking at it by brand, China's electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD alone surpassed Japanese brands. BYD had 2,023 units, while Lexus had 1,079 units, Toyota had 829 units, and Honda had 66 units.

According to analysis, as demand for EVs increases due to rising crude oil prices, South Korean consumers are beginning to turn their attention to Chinese cars equipped with software-defined vehicle (SDV) functions, in addition to their price competitiveness. (Translation/Editing by Yanagawa)