[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Lexus and Toyota created a sensation in the Korean market last year and showed excellent business performance. They achieved sales of nearly 1.3 trillion won last year, their best performance ever since entering the Korean market.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 21st, Korea Toyota Motor's sales for fiscal year 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024) were 1.2645 trillion won, and operating profit was 74.9 billion won, up 43.4% and 38.5% year-on-year, respectively. Operating profit is also the highest since entering the Korean market.

Net profit also increased by 41.5% year-on-year to KRW 58 billion. In particular, cash and cash equivalents increased by 93.8% year-on-year to KRW 49.8 billion, and retained earnings increased by 37% year-on-year to KRW 62.7 billion. This is a new performance record set 23 years after the launch of Lexus Korea in 2001.

In fact, Toyota and Lexus' domestic sales last year increased by 59.2% year-on-year to 22,056 units. In the case of Lexus, it sold 13,561 units in Korea last year, a 78.6% increase year-on-year, re-entering the 10,000-unit club for the first time in four years since 2019 (12,241 units). The analysis is that the performance of hybrid cars representing each brand, such as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the Lexus ES300h, was effective.

Among imported car brands, the domestic sales rankings are BMW, Benz, Tesla, Volvo, Lexus, and Toyota. Excluding Tesla, an electric car brand, Toyota is the only brand in the top 10 that has seen an increase in sales. Lexus recorded 6,421 units, accounting for 5.11% of the market share.

An automobile industry insider predicted, "For the time being, Toyota and Lexus are expected to continue to do well not only in the Japanese car market but also in the Korean market, which values ​​cost-effectiveness," adding, "In particular, they are expected to continue to grow by riding the hybrid car craze during the sluggish electric car market and recession."

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, out of the 125,652 newly registered imported cars in the first half of this year, hybrid cars accounted for 59,522 units, or 47.4% of the total. This is a higher figure than gasoline cars (31,987 units, 25.5%), electric cars (26,979 units, 21.5%), diesel cars (3,754 units, 3%), and plug-in hybrid cars (3,410 units, 2.7%). Lexus and Toyota have hybrid ratios exceeding 90%.

On the other hand, Honda Korea's fiscal year 2023 sales decreased by 15.8% to KRW 271 billion in 2022. However, operating profit increased by 16.1% from KRW 8.7 billion to KRW 10.1 billion last year by reducing other expenses. Net profit also increased from KRW 2.5 billion to KRW 8.6 billion.

Although absolute sales did not increase significantly, sales are said to have recovered, centered on hybrid models such as the compact SUV CR-V and the mid-sized sedan Accord. In addition, the marketing cost spent by Honda Korea increased by 115.4% to KRW 11.2 billion compared to KRW 5.2 billion in the same period.

Advertising and publicity expenses are 2.7 billion won, and promotional expenses are 8.5 billion won. The analysis is that although marketing expenses have increased significantly, only costs have been spent, and in terms of effectiveness, there has been negative growth.

An auto industry insider said, "Sales that plummeted due to the anti-Japanese boycott are evaluated to have recovered amid the friendly relations," and predicted, "It is not easy to expect significant growth for the time being due to the absence of notable killer vehicles in the Korean auto market."