Mercedes-Benz has successfully defended its dominance as the largest foreign car seller in the Korean imported car market for four straight months in September 2017.
But, the BMW 520d has held the lead as the best-selling model for two consecutive months after it snatched the crown from Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class sedan in August 2017.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) on Oct 13, a total of 20,234 imported vehicles were sold in September, up 20.6 percent from a year ago and 15.3 percent from a month ago.
By brand, Mercedes-Benz ranked first after selling 5,606 units. It was followed by BMW (5,299 units), Land Rover (1,323 units), Lexus (1,128 units), Honda (1,022 units), MINI (933 units), Ford (832 units), Chrysler (767 units), Toyota (755 units), Nissan (541 units), Volvo (466 units) Jaguar (414 units) and Peugeot (306 units), according to KAIDA data.
Land Rover was the most noticeable among them as it has moved up four notches to the third largest seller only in a month thanks to the Discovery Sport TD4 that sold 600 units.
The best-selling model in September 2017 was BMW 520d, delivering 1,382 units, followed by BMW 520d xDrive with 886 units and Mercedes-Benz’s E200 with 854 units.
Six out of 10 imported vehicles sold in Korea last month were from Germany, the statement said, and seven out of 10 imported vehicles sold during the first nine months of the year were from Europe.
The share of imported vehicles in the Korean passenger car market rose to 15.1 percent in the first nine months of the year from 14.6 percent during the same period last year, an association spokeswoman said.