Heads of global carmakers are flocking to Korea recently, calling the nation’s fast-growing import car market an ideal test bed for their newest vehicles.

Three chiefs of Infiniti, BMW and Volvo have chosen Seoul as the first destination for their trips to Asia this year.

Last week, Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti -- the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Nissan -- visited Seoul to unveil the company’s new hatchbacks Q60 and Q30 along with Q80 Inspiration concept. It was the first showcase in the Asian region.

At the launch, Krueger said, “Korea is a very important market globally. All the global brands are paying attention to the market, with 1.3 million imported cars registered.”

Import car sales have seen a double-digit growth since 2010, making up more than 15 percent in the total car sales in Korea, home turf of Hyundai and Kia whose market shares reaching a whopping 70 percent.

The Infinite chief said the carmaker aims to become a “stronger player here to threaten German automakers BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz in a decade,” citing the top players in the import car market.

In the first quarter of this year alone, Infiniti sold more than 1,000 cars in Korea, a 64 percent surge from a year ago.

In the meantime, BMW’s Harald Krueger also showed willingness to further consolidate the unrivaled market position of the best-selling foreign carmaker in Korea. In his January visit, the BMW chief said, “Korea is a great barometer for luxury brands as its consumers are very sophisticated and brand-sensitive. If we can satisfy their needs, it can work anywhere.”

Apart from high-end consumers, he said, local partners such as Samsung had good reason for BMW to consider Korea strategically important. 

Samsung SDI is the sole battery provider for BMW’s i3 and other hybrid models, while the carmaker has also recently partnered with Samsung Electronics to develop futuristic smart car technologies.

Krueger said, “As electric vehicles are becoming more important, partnerships with Korean firms will be more vital.”

Besides passenger cars, Korea is an important market for global commercial carmakers.

In March, Martin Lundstedt, president of Volvo, who visited Korea as the first nation during his trip to Asia, said, “Volvo truck is the fast-growing business within the group."

According to him, Korea is the fifth-largest market for Volvo trucks in terms of sales.

Yoon Dae-sung, an executive of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, said, “Global automakers view Korea as an ideal test bed because of the difficulty to satisfy tech-savvy and high-end consumers and the diversity of fuel choices -- gasoline, diesel and hybrid -- in the local auto market.”

By Shin Ji-hye
(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)