Seoul: Imported car sales in South Korea jumped 25.5 percent on-year in April, helped by better supply and promotional programmes.
A total of 16,712 new foreign-made cars were sold in the one-month period, compared with 13,320 units a year earlier, Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) as saying.
Annual foreign car sales hit a record high of 156,497 units in 2013. The latest tally also showed a 6.2 percent increase in car sales vis-a-vis March when foreign original car equipment manufacturers sold 15,733 units. “The move by companies to improve supply and better promotional campaigns helped buoy sales,” KAIDA executive manager Yoon Dae-sung said.
For the first four months of this year, the association said 61,146 imported vehicles were sold in the country, up a healthy 26.6 percent from 48,284 units sold in the first four months of 2013.
The domestic market share of imported cars stood at 11.4 percent last month, down slightly from 11.5 percent in March.
German luxury brands BMW ranked No. 1 with Mercedes-Benz coming in second in terms of sales. This was followed by Volkswagen, Audi and Ford. Japanese carmakers Lexus, Toyota, Nissan and Honda all made the top 10 list, KAIDA said. BMW sold 3,625 vehicles overall, with sales of Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen reaching 3,310 and 2,609 units, respectively. QNA
