The neck-and-neck competition between BMW and Mercedes-Benz has been a buzzword in the foreign car community since the beginning of this year.

In April, Mercedes-Benz retook the top position in monthly sales of foreign car brands, pushing BMW down to the second spot ― with its market share reaching 19.69 percent. 

The results are based on the April survey of newly registered foreign cars by Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, an indicator of foreign car sales.

According to the data, Mercedes-Benz sold 4,136 vehicles, while BMW sold 3,798 units, followed by Volkswagen with 2,612 units. Ford was placed fourth by selling 1,044 units, beating Audi.

Mercedes-Benz topped in monthly sales for the first two months of this year, but BMW retook the top spot in March.

“Demand for Mercedes-Benz cars has been rising equally in every segment from the low to high-ends,’’ a company spokesperson said.

“We are going to continue efforts to strengthen product lineups to keep with consumer demand.”

“Considering the upward trend in sales of Mercedes-Benz cars, there is high possibility that the rankings of foreign car brands will change this year,’’ an industry insider said.

BMW has kept the crown in foreign car sales for the past six years in a row since 2009.

In April, three models of Mercedes-Benz-the New S350 BlueTEC 4Matic, the New E220 BlueTEC Avantgarde and the New C220 BlueTEC were listed on the top as best-selling cars, the KAIDA report showed.

Two luxury sedan models of BMW ― 520d and 520d xDrive ― made it to the top ten list.

By Seo Jee-yeon  (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)