Embattled German carmaker Volkswagen saw its sales in South Korea drop nearly 8 percent on-month in September amid the deepening emissions rigging scandal, far underperforming in the market, industry data showed Tuesday.

According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, Volkswagen sold 2,901 cars in South Korea last month, down 7.8 percent from a month earlier.

The latest sales data have been closely watched as they were expected to provide a glimpse into how the German carmaker has been performing in the wake of the global emissions rigging scandal that erupted in mid-September.

"It seems that the impact from the scandal has yet to be fully reflected in the data," a Volkswagen official market expert said.

"We need October sales data to more accurately figure out how it has affected the foreign car market."

The on-month sales decline is attributed partly to fewer working days caused by the Chuseok holiday that fell on the last week of September, he said, emphasizing that its sales grew 26.7 percent compared to a year earlier.

Some models seemed to have been affected by the latest scandal.

The data showed that Volkswagen sold 583 units of the Passat 2.0 TDI, which slipped to fourth in September from being the best-seller among foreign brands in the previous month. The Golf 2.0 TDI also fell from the third to the 10th with its sales sharply dropping to 430 units.

Volkswagen's September sales far underperformed a 12 percent rise in the total registration of new foreign vehicles in South Korea. Last month, 20,381 foreign vehicles were registered.

The overall rise in imported car sales was thanks to the launch of new models by major foreign brands, the association said.

Mercedes-Benz ranked first by selling 4,329 cars in September, followed by BMW with 3,506 units and Audi with 3,401 units.

Volkswagen came in fourth in terms of monthly sales, the data showed. (Yonhap)