Electric vehicle brand Tesla recorded a market share of over 30 percent among imported cars in the domestic market during the first half of this year.

According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on July 3, the cumulative number of new imported passenger car registrations from January to June was 184,032, a 33.2 percent increase from 138,120 during the same period last year.

Of this total, Tesla accounted for 56,139 units, or 30.5 percent, taking the top spot.

In the first half of last year, Tesla's market share was 13.9 percent, ranking third behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but it jumped to the lead as sales surged by 192 percent.

BMW ranked second with 39,150 units (21.3 percent), and Mercedes-Benz ranked third with 29,776 units (16.2 percent).

Both brands saw their market shares decline by more than 5 percentage points.

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, which entered the Korean market last year, ranked fourth with 11,675 units (6.3 percent).

This was followed by Lexus with 7,819 units (4.3 percent), Volvo with 7,470 units (4.1 percent), Audi with 7,337 units (4.0 percent), Toyota with 5,187 units (2.8 percent), Porsche with 4,322 units (2.4 percent), and Mini with 4,091 units (2.2 percent).

The number of new imported passenger car registrations in June was 38,059, a 27.5 percent increase from 29,860 in May and a 37.0 percent increase from 27,779 during the same period last year.

By brand, the number of registrations in June included 11,119 for Tesla, 6,569 for BMW, 5,565 for Mercedes-Benz, and 4,652 for BYD.

By country of origin, Europe accounted for 18,820 units (49.4 percent), followed by the United States with 11,445 units (30.1 percent), China with 4,652 units (12.2 percent), and Japan with 3,142 units (8.3 percent).

By fuel type, electric vehicles accounted for more than half with 19,453 units (51.1 percent), followed by hybrids with 15,125 units (39.7 percent).

Regarding purchase types, individuals accounted for 27,110 units (71.2 percent), and corporations accounted for 10,949 units (28.8 percent).

Jung Yoon-young, vice chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, said, "New registrations of imported passenger cars in June increased compared to the previous month due to some brands securing inventory and the effect of new car releases."

The best-selling models in June were the Tesla Model Y L (5,155 units), Tesla Model Y Premium (3,318 units), and BYD Dolphin (2,747 units).

The Tesla Model Y, which sold a total of 9,188 units including the Premium Long Range, has surpassed the Kia Sorento to take the top spot in the domestic new car market, covering both domestic and imported cars, since May.