Market share of foreign vehicles in S. Korea rises

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- The market share of imported vehicles in South Korea rose in the first five months of this year from a year earlier on growing demand here for luxury vehicles, a local trade group said Monday.
In the January-May period, 42,700 imported vehicles were sold in South Korea, up 24.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).
The figure represents 6.5 percent of all passenger vehicles sold in the country in the five-month period, up from 5.5 percent in the same period last year.
The combined market share of imported vehicles stayed well above 6 percent this year, except in February when it dropped to 5.9 percent, KAIDA said. The market share even reached 7.1 percent in March when the monthly sales of imported brands reached over 10,000 units for the first time in the country's history.
Import brands are aiming to sell over 100,000 units this year after their combined sales topped 90,000 units for the first time last year.
bdk@yna.co.kr