Seoul, May 8
The number of imported vehicles sold in South Korea last month dropped slightly from a year earlier, but eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for a record 81 percent of the total, industry data showed on Thursday.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA), a total of 21,495 imported cars were newly registered in April, down 0.3 percent from a year ago.
KAIDA attributed the decrease to price hikes and inventory shortages for certain brands, reports news agency.
By brand, BMW retained the top spot with 6,710 units sold, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Lexus, with 4,908, 1,447 and 1,353 units, respectively.
In terms of fuel type, hybrid vehicles led the sales, accounting for 63.7 percent, followed by EVs and gasoline models, at 17.3 percent and 17.1 percent, respectively. Diesel models accounted for 1.9 percent of total imports.
By individual model line, Mercedes-Benz's E-Class topped the sales chart with 2,151 units, followed by BMW's 5 Series and Tesla's Model Y, with 2,040 units and 804 units, respectively.
Meanwhile, the sale of imported vehicles in South Korea gained 24.4 percent from a year earlier in February, helped by the announcement of this year's government subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs), industry data showed recently.