This file photo taken Feb. 9, 2023, shows a man passing by a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 4.3 percent last month from a year earlier due to decreased sales of German cars, an industry association said Wednesday.
The number of newly registered foreign vehicles came to 23,840 units last month, down from 24,917 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.
The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz’s E 350 4MATIC sedan, Lexus’ ES300h sedan and BMW’s 520 sedan, the statement said.
In March, three German brands — Volkswagen Group Korea, BMW Group Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea — sold a combined 16,026 units, down 15 percent from 18,763 the previous year.
German cars accounted for 67 percent of imported vehicles sold in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy last month, falling from 75 percent from a year earlier, KAIDA said.
In contrast, three Japanese brands — Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and its independent brand Lexus — sold a total 2,232 units last month, jumping 86 percent from 1,202 a year earlier.
Imported brands accounted for 15.9 percent of the Korean passenger vehicle market in January, down from 18.1 percent a year ago. Their market share for February and March has yet to be released, KAIDA said.
(Yonhap)
