South Korea's imported car business lobby group said Thursday it has appointed an Audi Volkswagen Korea executive as its new chief to help their members gain a bigger share in the local passenger vehicle market.

Till Scheer, group managing director of Audi Volkswagen Korea, will serve as the 15th chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) from March to February 2024, KAIDA said in a statement.

"With a heavy sense of responsibility, I aspire to find solutions for some of the challenges faced by the imported car industry, and to maintain growth of the industry," Scheer said in the statement.

He joined Volkswagen Group in 2003 as director of the light commercial vehicle and fleet sales in Italy.

He has been involved in Asian businesses since 2008 when he took over as Managing Director of Volkswagen Hong Kong Ltd.

KAIDA expects that the new chairman will respond nimbly to market changes amid the trend of electrification, based on his broad understanding of the Asian market.

KAIDA consists of 20 imported passenger car and commercial car member companies.

For the whole of 2021, imported carmakers sold 276,146 vehicles in Korea, up 0.5 percent from 274,859 units a year earlier. (Yonhap)