What Is K Car Auction?
K Car Auction is operated by K Car (케이카), Korea's largest certified used car platform. Unlike Glovis (tied to Hyundai Motor Group) or AJ (an independent auction operator), K Car runs a retail used car business first — and the auction is its B2B channel. Vehicles that flow into auction have already been screened through K Car's retail pipeline.
K Car runs two auction centers: Osan (1,200 vehicles/day capacity) and Sejong (600 vehicles/day capacity). Combined, they move roughly 9,500 vehicles per quarter through B2B auctions. Auctions run daily, with a larger weekly auction every Tuesday.
This is Part 3 of a series profiling each of Korea's five major auction houses with real transaction data. The goal: help you figure out which house fits your sourcing strategy.
Volume and Sold Rate
K Car is the smallest of the five major houses by listing count. But it has the highest sold rate — and it is not close.
| Metric | K Car | All 5 Houses Combined |
|---|---|---|
| Listed | ~2,000 | 31,583 |
| Sold | ~1,000 | 11,820 |
| Sold rate | ~64% | ~51% avg |
| Avg sold price | 783만원 (~~$5,400) | varies |
A ~64% sold rate means nearly two-thirds of listed vehicles find a buyer on auction day. That is 10+ points higher than Glovis (~52%) or AJ (~51%). And the average sold price of ~$5,400 is the lowest of any house — $2,000 less than Glovis and nearly $3,000 less than AJ.
For context, here is how K Car compares to every other major house:
| House | Listed | Sold | Sold Rate | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glovis | ~13,000 | ~5,800 | ~52% | ~$7,400 |
| AJ Sellcar | ~10,000 | ~3,900 | ~51% | ~$8,200 |
| Lotte | ~3,300 | ~1,100 | ~53% | ~$12,700 |
| K Car | ~2,000 | 997 | ~64% | ~$5,400 |
| SK | ~3,100 | ~1,900 | ~63% | ~$11,300 |
K Car processes only 15% of what Glovis does, but converts at a significantly higher rate. The question is: why?
Why ~64%? Three Theories
K Car's sold rate stands out. It is the highest of any Korean auction house by a wide margin. There are three likely explanations, and they probably work together.
1. Pre-screened inventory. K Car is a retail platform first. Vehicles that enter K Car's system go through inspection and certification for the retail side. Cars that do not sell at retail — or are not suited for retail — get routed to the B2B auction. This means auction inventory has already been vetted for quality. Buyers know that a K Car auction vehicle has passed at least one round of professional inspection.
2. Lower starting prices attract more bidders. At ~$5,400 average, K Car sits at the budget end of the market. Lower price points bring more buyers into each auction — including smaller dealers and exporters who cannot compete at the $8,000–$13,000 averages of AJ, Lotte, or SK. More bidders per car means higher sold rates.
3. Export-friendly buyer pool. K Car has cultivated a buyer base that includes a significant number of exporters. Exporters tend to be less selective on specific trims or colors and more focused on price-to-value ratios. They bid on more vehicles, which pushes the sold rate up.
The result: if you list a car at K Car, it has a better chance of selling than at any other house. And if you are a buyer, the inventory has been pre-filtered for quality.
A Note on Model-Level Data
We do not have model-level breakdowns for K Car. In our unified auction database, the base_model_en field is null for K Car listings. This means we cannot produce a top 10 models table the way we did for Glovis or AJ.
We are working on backfilling this data. For now, the manufacturer mix and fuel type breakdowns below give you a solid picture of what moves at K Car.
Manufacturer Mix
| Manufacturer | % of K Car Sales | Sold Count |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai | ~40% | ~400 |
| Kia | ~31% | ~310 |
| Chevrolet | ~6% | ~57 |
| Renault Korea | ~5% | ~50 |
| KG Mobility | ~4% | ~40 |
71.1% of everything sold at K Car is Hyundai or Kia. This is nearly identical to Glovis (71.7%). The brand mix tells you K Car is a domestic Korean house — not the place for European imports.
Chevrolet at ~6% is moderate — higher than AJ (4.3%) but below Glovis (7.9%). Renault Korea at ~5% is slightly above its share at other houses, reflecting K Car's broader retail network that picks up more of the long-tail Korean brands.
If you source European or luxury brands, AJ Sellcar is a better fit. K Car is where you go for Korean domestic brands at the lowest prices.
Fuel Type Breakdown
| Fuel Type | % of Sales | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | ~51% | ~500 |
| Diesel | ~36% | ~360 |
| LPG | ~6% | ~57 |
| Electric | ~1% | ~12 |
K Car is a traditional powertrain house. Gasoline and diesel together make up 86.8% of sales — slightly higher than Glovis (85.2%) and well above Lotte (72.2%).
The diesel share at ~36% sits between Glovis (~33%) and AJ (~44%). If your export market values diesel vehicles, K Car offers decent selection at the lowest prices.
Electric at ~1% means roughly 12 EVs per month. If you are sourcing EVs, this is not the house — Lotte moves more than 10x that volume. We covered Lotte's EV advantage in our upcoming Part 4 of this series.
The Budget Sourcing Angle
K Car's ~$5,400 average sold price is the lowest of any major house. Here is what that means in context:
| House | Avg Sold Price | Difference from K Car |
|---|---|---|
| K Car | ~$5,400 | — |
| Glovis | ~$7,400 | +$2,024 |
| AJ | ~$8,200 | +$2,829 |
| Lotte | ~$12,700 | +$7,342 |
| SK | ~$11,300 | +$5,900 |
The average K Car vehicle costs $2,000 less than Glovis and nearly $3,000 less than AJ. For budget-conscious exporters who source 10–20 vehicles per shipment, that difference adds up fast — $20,000 to $60,000 in savings per container load.
This does not mean K Car vehicles are lower quality. The pre-screening through K Car's retail platform means these are certified vehicles that happen to be priced for the budget segment — older model years, higher mileage, or base trims that did not move at retail.
Daily Auctions — More Chances to Buy
Most Korean auction houses run auctions on specific days of the week. K Car runs auctions daily, with a larger-scale weekly auction every Tuesday. This gives buyers more flexibility:
- You can attend multiple auctions per week without blocking out full days
- Inventory refreshes daily, so you see new vehicles every session
- The Tuesday auction concentrates the highest volume for buyers who want to batch their sourcing
For exporters on tight shipping schedules, daily auctions mean you can source right up to your deadline rather than waiting for the next scheduled auction day.
Who Should Source From K Car
K Car is for you if:
- You source budget inventory in the $3,000–$7,000 range — K Car has the lowest average price of any house at ~$5,400
- You want the best odds of winning a bid — ~64% sold rate means high liquidity and active bidding
- You value certified quality — K Car's retail pre-screening means inventory has been professionally inspected
- You need daily auction access — more flexible scheduling than any other house
- You are an exporter — K Car's buyer pool is export-friendly, and the price point matches high-volume export economics
K Car is NOT for you if:
- You need high volume — ~2,000 listings vs Glovis's ~13,000; you may exhaust supply quickly
- You want premium or Genesis — K Car skews budget; Genesis and luxury brands are rare here
- You are sourcing EVs or hybrids — only ~1% electric; Lotte (~24% electrified) is the better choice
- You want European imports — Mercedes, BMW, and Audi barely register at K Car; AJ Sellcar has nearly double the import share
- You need model-level data for analysis — our database currently lacks model breakdowns for K Car
What's Next
This is Part 3 of a five-part series profiling Korea's major auction houses. Coming up:
- Part 4: Lotte Auto Auction — the EV/hybrid house, ~24% electrified inventory, highest Genesis concentration
- Part 5: SK Auction — high sold rate (~63%), hybrid-strong, newest model years from lease returns
Already published:
- Part 1: Hyundai Glovis — Korea's largest house, 42% of all listings
- Part 2: AJ Sellcar — diesel-heavy, best European import selection
Each article follows the same format: real data, real prices, and a clear recommendation for who should source there.
Find K Car Auction Vehicles on Auction Eye
All K Car listings are available to browse on Auction Eye with real-time prices, inspection photos, and AI-powered price analysis.
- Browse K Car auction listings — live prices and full inspection data
- Auction vs retail price comparison — see how much you save versus Encar retail
- Most popular auction cars — top sellers across all houses
- How Korean car auctions work — new to Korean auctions? Start here
USD figures use ₩1,450 = $1 USD (March 2026). Exchange rates fluctuate — check current rates before purchasing. Data from the last 30 days of Korean auto auction records.
Published by LMN Autos, a Korean auction sourcing company. Data from our operations.