Sales of imported vehicles in S. Korea may drop 17.3 pct in 2009

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea may drop
17.3 percent this year amid sluggish demand, industry data showed Thursday.
South Koreans are expected to buy 51,000 imported vehicles this year, compared
with 61,648 units sold last year, according to the data released by the Korea
Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.
The figure would mark the first annual decline for foreign brands, which have
achieved consistent double-digit growth over the past years, the association
said.
Pounded by the deepening global economic downturn, South Korea's economy has been
deteriorated rapidly in recent months.
The economy shrank 3.4 percent in the final quarter of 2008, marking the first
contraction on an annual basis in a decade.
On Wednesday, the Bank of Korea said consumer confidence index rebounded in
January from a 10-year low in December. But, analysts say recovery in consumer
spending isn't coming anytime soon as the economy is widely expected to head for
a technical recession.
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