Unusual Gust
New registrations of imported automobiles reached highest number on record last month.
On Feb. 5, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) reported 19,930 units of newly-registered imported cars in January. This figure is 34.2 percent higher than the same month last year, and up 16.4 percent from a month ago, surpassing the previous highest record last July (18,112 units).
Also, the market share of imported cars in the domestic automobile market recorded the highest on the monthly base in history, with 18.1 percent. The previous highest figure was 15.4 percent in August last year.
By brand, Mercedes-Benz ranked first with 4,367 units. It was the first time in history for the monthly sales of one brand to exceed 4000 units. Mercedes-Benz said the supply shortage problem in the S-class and E-class was solved, contributing to the sharp increase in sales in January.
Benz was followed by Audi (3,550 units), BMW (3,008 units), Volkswagen (3,003 units), Ford Lincoln (909 units), Toyota (647 units), Lexus (520 units), Land Rover (488 units), Chrysler (475 units), Honda (457 units), Peugeot (445 units), Nissan (433 units), Volvo (421 units), and Mini (349 units).
Those were followed by Porsche (315 units), Jaguar (186 units), Infiniti (162 units), Fiat (52 units), Cadillac (47 units), Bentley (46 units), Citroen (46 units), and Rolls Royce (4 units).
The best selling model was the Audi A6 35 TDI selling 807 units. Then, the Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI (791 units) and Tiguan 2.0 TDI Bluemotion (767 units) ranked second and third, respectively.
By engine displacement, vehicles of lower than 2,000 cc represented more than half with 52.1 percent (10,377 units), 2,000 to 3,000 cc with 37.9 percent (7,555 units), 3,000 to 4,000 cc with 6.7 percent (1,335 units), and higher than 4,000 cc with 3.2 percent (642 units).
By country, Europe ranked first with 81.7 percent (16,280 units), followed by Japan with 11.1 percent (2,219 units), and the U.S. with 7.2 percent (1,431 units).
By fuel, diesel still had the highest portion with 68.1 percent (13,573 units), followed by gasoline with 28.5 percent (5,683 units), hybrids with 3.3 percent (635 units), and electricity with 0.1 percent (21 units).