Small Imported Cars Tops in S. Korea Sales Growth

Import car sales jumped 12.1% in November over October while sales of domestic makes have fallen for two straight months, according to a report Monday by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributers Association (KAIDA).

In November a total of 9,230 new imports were registered, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier and 12.1% ahead of October.

The strongest segment of import sales is cars with engine displacements smaller under 2 liters and small- and mid-size cars priced between W20 and W30 million ($17,700 – $26,549) now account for half of all import sales sales.

Grabbing the top import spot was the 1.8-liter Nissan Cube which sold 735. The BMW 520d diesel came in second with 526 units. The Cube comes in versions that sell for W21.9 mil. ($19,381) and W24.9 mil. ($22,035).

The Cube is followed by Mercedes-Benz E300 (494), Toyota Prius Hybrid (290) and the Volkswagen CC 2.0TDI BlueMotion (260). Only the Mercedes-Benz E300 has an engine displacement of 2 liters or more, suggesting a trend toward smaller imports.

The Volkswagen Golf, which starts at W31.4 mil. ($27,788) and has a 2-liter engine, had been the previous import sales leader.

The market share of imported cars with engines below 2 liters surged to a record 44.7% in November, a 10% jump from the same month of 2010.