Import Car Sales Hit New Record
Imported cars broke the monthly sales record again in March, with 10,648 cars sold, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said Wednesday.
This is the third time that sales of foreign cars in Korea have crossed the 10,000 mark, after March and September last year.
They also broke the quarterly sales record with 29,285 cars sold from January to March, a 9.6 percent market share.
Korea's five carmakers -- Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong -- sold a total of 274,554 sedans, SUVs and minivans in the first quarter, down 8 percent on-year, while sales of imported cars rose 14 percent during the same period.
BMW was the bestselling foreign carmaker with 6,664 units in the first quarter, followed by Mercedes-Benz (4,388), Volkswagen (3,681), Audi (3,404), and Toyota (2,717). Next came Mini (1,155), Honda (1,127), Ford (1,015), Chrysler (1,007) and Lexus (922).
The BMW 5 Series was also the bestselling model overall with 3,546 units in the first quarter, far ahead of Korean cars like GM Korea's flagship midsize Chevrolet Malibu sedan (2,827) and semi-luxury Alpheon sedan (2,017), and Renault Samsung's semi-luxury SM7 sedan (2,087).
The Mercedes E-Class (2,152) and Toyota Camry (2,019 including hybrid models) were the second and third bestselling imported cars.
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