Imported car sales fall 6.6 pct in Jan. amid chip shortage

▲ This file photo taken Nov. 3, 2022, and provided by BMW Korea shows the German carmaker's new 3 series models. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

imported cars-Jan sales

Imported car sales fall 6.6 pct in Jan. amid chip shortage

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 6.6 percent last month from a year earlier amid the lingering chip shortage, an industry association said Friday.

The number of newly registered foreign vehicles stood at 16,222 units last month, up from 17,361 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.

The three bestselling models last month were BMW's 520 sedan, Audi's A6 TFSI quattro sedan and BMW's X3 SUV, the statement said.

In January, three German brands -- Volkswagen Group Korea, BMW Group Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea -- sold a combined 12,365 units, up 2.1 percent from 12,114 the previous year.

German cars accounted for 76 percent of imported vehicles sold in Asia's fourth-biggest economy last month, KAIDA said.

Imported brands accounted for 20.98 percent of the Korean passenger vehicle market in December, up from 17.59 percent a year ago. Their market share for January has yet to be released, KAIDA said.

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