In contrast to the stagnant growth of major domestic carmakers, sales of imported cars in the Korean market jumped 25.5 percent to a record high of 196,359 vehicles last year over the previous year, data showed Wednesday.

The growth marks an upward trend for the fifth consecutive year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

“It is a matter of time before we see the number of registered foreign cars exceeded 200,000 early this year,’’ an industry insider said, adding that despite the prolonged recession in consumer spending, foreign cars will see the continued rise in their presence this year. 

In December alone, 17,120 foreign vehicles were sold, up 38 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The spike in sales was driven by a marked growth in demand for diesel-engine and hybrid electric vehicles, which jumped 36.9 percent and 32.6 percent to 133,054 units and 7,736 units, respectively, KAIDA said.

Sales of gasoline-engine vehicles also grew 3.6 percent on-year to 55,383 units.

By country, German automakers expanded their stake in the Korean market last year, while Japanese companies saw their market share decline.

The data showed that German cars accounted for 69.4 percent of annual sales, an increase from the previous year’s 67.5 percent. Japanese brands came next with a market share of 12.3 percent, but the share declined from the previous year’s 14.1 percent.

By brand, BMW ranked first with 40,174 vehicle sales last year, followed by Mercedes-Benz with 35,213 and Volkswagen with 30,719.

In terms of best-selling car models, however, Volkswagen beat BMW to the top spot.

Volkswagen’s Tiguan 2.0 TDI BlueMotion sold 8,106 units last year, retaining its best-seller status among foreign brands. BMW 520D came next with 6,546 units, according to the association.

Volkswagen cars, in particular, have appealed to young, trendy Korean drivers.

The German carmaker bas become the No. 1 brand in sales in the 20 million won ($18,800) to 40 million won price range, KAIDA said.

Boosted by a quickly growing demand for the brand, Volkswagen Korea said Wednesday it has set a goal of advancing to the No. 1 imported car brand in Korea by 2018.

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