Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rebounded in March, by 8.1% to 24,094 units compared with 22,280 units a year ago, according to the monthly report released by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.
This follows a decline of close to 5% in the first two months of the year, as local brands pushed forward with new models and more aggressive marketing and pricing. First-quarter import sales amounted to 55,999 units – in line with last year's volumes.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Importers also benefited from the reintroduction of the discounted sales tax rate of 3.5%, instead of the normal 5%, at the end of January.
European brands accounted for 80.7% of total imports in March, followed by Japanese brands wit 12.4% and US brands 6.9%.
Mercedes-Benz was the leading imported brand last month with a reported 5,162 sales, helped by the popularity of the new E220 – its best-selling model. BMW followed in second place with 4,317 units; while Volkswagen sold 3,663 units and Audi 2,552 units.
