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Amid concerns of dampened consumer sentiment in the latter half of this year, imported car manufacturers are launching aggressive discount campaigns.
According to industry sources on Aug. 23, the “Big Three” German car manufacturers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi – initiated their discount promotions early this month.
BMW, which has been the top seller so far this year, is launching a full revamp of its flagship “5 Series” in October. Ahead of this, it is known that they are ramping up discounts on the 5 Series models. The plug-in hybrid 530e model is being offered at a 19% discount, so its normal price of 86.4 million won (US$65,132) is seeing a reduction of 16.5 million won.
The 530i xDrive M Sport package, originally priced at 85.9 million won, can now be purchased for 70.4 million won, which is an 18% discount given on the condition of financial product utilization. Other 5 Series slim-downs are also being offered with discounts ranging between 13-18%. Regular gasoline models like the 520i are available at discounts of around 10-15% for individual customers. The older 5 Series model, now six years since its release, has seen sales figures of 13,756 units from January to July, a 29% increase from the same period last year.
The electric iX3 M Sport, originally priced at 82.6 million won, is being sold for 65.39 million won after a maximum discount of 20.8%, including the subsidy. This represents a fourfold increase from the previous discount, which was a mere 3 million won in March. Buyers of this electric vehicle also receive the benefit of unlimited charging for a year.
The i4 model has also seen increased discounts. Based on this month, its price after the maximum discount of 15.4%, including the subsidy, is 68.37 million won.
BMW Korea is the only member of the Korea Imported Automobile Association that is receiving charging infrastructure subsidies from the government. This subsidy is exclusively given to manufacturers that have installed more than 100 rapid chargers in the past three years.
Mercedes-Benz’s premium EQS 450 electric SUV, priced at 154.1 million won, is offering discounts of 11% for individual buyers and 17% for corporate buyers. The corporate discount promotion, which previously required the purchase of two cars to get a 9% discount, has been revised to offer a maximum of 13% discount for just a single purchase.
The S400D, priced at 170.1 million won, offers individual buyers a 22 million won discount, while corporations get a 26 million won discount. The S500, priced at 199.1 million won, provides individual buyers with a 24 million won discount and corporate clients a 30 million won discount.
The E-Class, with its upcoming model change next year, is also offering the E250 at a 8.1% discount priced at 67.9 million won.
With the potential introduction of a corporate car-exclusive “lime-colored license plate” as early as next month, Mercedes has been pushing hard on corporate car sales in the first half of this year. With a large influx of vehicles intended for the Russian market arriving in Korea, they’ve leveraged this for corporate car discounts, intensively targeting corporate marketers. As a result, the first half-year operating profit of Mercedes-Benz Korea Financial Services’ leasing sector grew by 44% year-on-year, reaching 37.9 billion won.
Not to be outdone, Audi has also been stoking the fires of the discount competition since the first half of this year. The midsize sedan A6 is being offered at a maximum discount of 17.5%, and the electric SUV e-tron at up to 22.5%. Fueled by these aggressive discount policies, Audi, which had slipped to fifth place in domestic imported car sales, climbed back up to third place last month.
Volkswagen, having no special new cars this year, is focusing on a promotion-centric strategy to boost sales. The Arteon, which has built up inventory, is being offered at a maximum discount of 20.4% for cash purchases and in-house financing users. The Touareg is available at an 18% discount. The Tiguan and Tiguan Allspace models come with up to an 11% discount, while the Golf has a maximum 9% off, and the Golf GTI comes with up to 3% off.
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