German Brands Account for More than 50% in Korea’s Import Car Market

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Clik here to view. SEOUL, KOREA- Six out of ten import cars selling in Korea are German-made vehicles. It is not hard to find on Korean roads German mid-sized sedans such as BMW 502d and Mercedes Benz E300.The number of import cars newly sold in Korea during the first half of this year stood at 74,487 units, of which 49,671 units are German brands.

 Four German brands—BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and Audi—grabbed a share of 66.7 percent in Korea’s import car market. These brands are growing at a blistering pace in the Korean market. Volkswagen, for example, sold 10,865 cars in Korea in the January-June period of this year, up 40.1 percent from 7,754 a year ago.

Audi also enjoyed a 28.8-percent growth to 9,399 units, while BMW and Benz marked a 15.4-percent and an 18.9-percent growth, respectively.

Ten years ago, German brands had enjoyed popularity here in Korea but not as strong as today. German brands had a market share of 45.1 percent in 2004, followed by Japanese brands such as Honda, Toyota, and Nissan which had a market share of 29.9 percent. The market share of Japanese brands plunged to 15.6 percent in the first half of this year.