Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea jumped 26 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Scania and Iveco trucks, an industry association said Monday.

The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 383 units in September from 304 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.

"Increased sales of Scania and Iveco trucks helped offset decreased sales of MAN and Mercedes-Benz trucks last month," a KAIDA official said.   

Imported commercial vehicles currently account for a large share of the domestic commercial vehicle market.

Five major imported commercial vehicle brands -- MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Trucks, Scania and Iveco -- sell trucks, buses and vans in South Korea.

From January to September, overall sales fell 13 percent to 3,091 from 3,567 in the year-ago period amid the pandemic-caused slump, the association said.

KAIDA expects the new coronavirus outbreak will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment this year. (Yonhap)