SEOUL, KOREA- The sales of import cars in Korea exceeded the 70,000 mark in the first half of this year, up about 20 percent from a year ago.
In particular, BMW 520d, the best-selling import car model, passed the 5,000 mark in sales in the January-June period of this year.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA), the sales of import cars reached 74,487 units in the first half of this year, up 19.7 percent from 62,239 a year ago. In contrast, the sales of domestically made cars fell 2.7 percent.
In June alone, the sales of import cars stood at 12,792 units, up 20.9 percent year on year but down 4.6 percent from a month ago.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen each broke the 10,000-unit barrier in the first half of this year. BMW sold 16,744 units, up 15.4 percent, while Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen sold 11,658 units and 10,865 units, respectively, up 18.9 percent and 40.1 percent year on year.
