Six-seat Model Y L is South Korea's best-selling import: 8,690 sold in September as Tesla outsells BMW and Mercedes combined

In the United States, buyers who order the six-seat Model Y L today are being told to wait until 2027. In South Korea, the car is already on the road in large numbers, and it has become the single biggest reason Tesla is dominating the country's import market. September registration figures from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) show just how big it has become.

The September numbers

• Model Y L: 8,690 registrations, the best-selling imported model in South Korea by far. That is about 70% of all Teslas registered that month, and roughly one in four imported passenger cars sold in the country.
• Tesla overall: 12,372 registrations, up 36% from 9,069 in September 2025 and up 19% from August.
• Market share: about 35% of an import market of 34,904 cars, which itself grew 6.3%.
• The competition: BMW came second with 6,066 cars, Mercedes-Benz third with 5,477 and BYD fourth with 2,614. Tesla sold more than BMW and Mercedes together.

It was the eighth month in a row that Tesla was the top imported brand in South Korea, a streak that started in February. According to Tesla Korea, the Model Y was also the best-selling vehicle of any kind in the country in September, including domestic brands such as Hyundai and Kia, for the third month running.

What is the Model Y L?

The Model Y L is a longer version of the Model Y with three rows and six seats, aimed at families who need more space than the regular five-seat car offers. The cars sold in South Korea are built at Tesla's Shanghai factory. The model went on sale in Korea in April 2026.

Demand has been strong enough that Tesla has raised the price. According to EV-focused news site eletric-vehicles.com, the starting price went up from 64.99 million won at launch to 72.99 million won, or about $54,600. Even so, sales have kept growing.

A bigger picture: Korea goes electric

The Model Y L is riding a wider wave. Electric cars made up 52.1% of imported passenger car registrations in South Korea in September, more than hybrids and far ahead of petrol-only cars. Tesla registered 33,009 cars in Korea in the third quarter, and 89,148 in the first nine months of 2026, more than double the 43,612 of the same period last year.

That makes South Korea one of Tesla's most important growth markets this year, at a time when sales in China have been mixed and Europe has only recently started to recover.

Why it matters

The Korean figures are the clearest evidence so far that there is real demand for a larger, three-row Tesla. Since the Model X is no longer built, the Model Y L is now Tesla's main option for families who need more than five seats. In Korea, where large family SUVs are popular, it has found a gap that neither the regular Model Y nor rival imported brands were filling.

It also helps explain the long wait times elsewhere. With strong demand in Asia and Tesla saying battery supply rather than demand is limiting its output, US estimated delivery dates for the Model Y L have stretched into early 2027.

What to watch next

• October figures from KAIDA, expected in early November, will show whether the Model Y L can keep this pace after the price increase.
• Supply: how Tesla divides Shanghai's output between China, Korea and other export markets, and whether that shortens wait times elsewhere.
• Competition: BYD is growing in Korea too, and Korean brands have their own three-row electric SUVs.