Korea imported 51,664 newly-registered vehicles in the first half of 2011 according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), a 23% increase on the same period in 2010. Sales of imported vehicles in the country were led by BMW and Mercedes, and the top region of imports was from Europe followed by Japan and the US.
Between January and July this year 14,410 BMWs were registered in the country, taking nearly 24% of the market and representing an increase of nearly 78% on the same period in 2010 (8,112). Registrations were led by 5-series models.
According to BMW its sales in Korea up to July this year have increased by more than 75% to 16,222 vehicles, with nearly 12,000 of those shipped from Germany.
“We are very pleased about the volume increase this year and the substantial growth potential for the coming years,” a spokesperson for BMW told Automotive Logistics. “The shipments from Europe and US to Korea are very much linked to our service to Asia especially to China.
He went on to say that, together with the company’s service providers the company was coping well with the volume increase.
Asked whether the EU-Korea FTA was having any impact on the deliveries BMW said it would not affect its service because volumes are not too high and the cars could be easily switched between the countries.
Mercedes, meanwhile, accounted for 10,744 registrations, taking nearly 18% of the market share, an increase of nearly 20% on January to July period in 2010. Registrations here were led by the Mercedes-Benz E300.
Volkswagen came in third with 7,698 registered over that period.
The total number of registrations of new imported cars to Korea in 2010 stood at 90,562.
