Korean car brands: the most popular in Europe in 2026

Walk across any car park in Europe and within ten seconds you will spot one. A Picanto outside the supermarket, a Kona on a driveway, a Niro at the charging point. In twenty years, Korean car brands have grown from the cheap alternative into a fixture on European roads. Their parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, is now the third largest carmaker in the world, behind only Toyota and Volkswagen. Yet the picture changes the moment you cross a border. In the Netherlands, Kia was the best selling car brand of all in 2025. In Germany, Hyundai sells far more than its sister brand. Which Korean brands drive on European roads, how many are there, and which Korean models never reach a European showroom? We have put it together for you.

Korean car brands on Dutch roads: a striking example

Few countries show the Korean rise as clearly as the Netherlands. Kia and Hyundai together account for more than 900,000 registered cars there, almost 9 percent of the entire Dutch fleet.

The fleet includes all passenger cars currently registered in the Netherlands, more than 10.2 million in total. Source: RDW (Dutch vehicle authority), September 2026.

The surprise on the list is Daewoo. The brand disappeared from Europe in the mid 2000s and continued under the Chevrolet name. Even so, more than 3,700 Daewoos are still on Dutch roads today. Tough cars, or loyal owners. Probably both. Cross the border into Germany and the order flips: there Hyundai registered 93,839 new cars in 2025, against 60,391 for Kia.

Why Kia wins in the Netherlands and only just in Europe

Across Europe as a whole, Hyundai outsold Kia until last year. Only in 2026 did the two swap places. In the Netherlands that happened thirteen years earlier, back in 2013. A few explanations stand out. Kia offered affordable electric cars early, exactly when low company car tax drew Dutch business drivers to plug in models in large numbers. On top of that, Kia gives a seven year factory warranty, an argument that lands well with price conscious buyers. And the Picanto became a private lease favourite: small, economical, with a predictable monthly payment. Kia and Hyundai are family, by the way. Both belong to Hyundai Motor Group and share technology, but in the showroom they are each other's fiercest rivals.

Korean models you won't find at a European dealer

The European line up is only part of what Korea builds. The largest and boldest models are made for the United States, the Middle East and Korea itself. The Hyundai Palisade is one of them: a spacious SUV with room for seven or eight people that has never been officially sold in most of Europe. Its sibling, the Kia Telluride, is built in the United States for the North American market. If you want to drive one anyway, import is the only route. Outside the EU you pay 10 percent import duty plus VAT in the country of registration, and some countries add a registration tax on top, such as the Dutch BPM, which hits large petrol engines hard. Lighting and other parts usually need to be adapted to European standards before the car passes inspection. At SCL Rotterdam we handle it from purchase to number plates, including customs clearance, the technical adaptations in our own workshop and registration in the Netherlands or Germany.