Sales of imported cars rise 10 pct in Sept.

Sales of imported cars climbed 10.1 percent on-year in September thanks to a stable supply of new models among foreign brands, industry data showed Monday. The number of newly registered imported cars came to 24,839 units in September, up from 22,565 units a year ago, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Mercedes-Benz was the most popular brand last month, selling 8,382 units, followed by BMW, which sold 7,082 units. Sales of Mercedes-Benz climbed 20.2 percent on-year, while those of BMW rose 14.4 percent. Tesla, Lexus and Volvo came next, with 1,349 units, 1,312 units and 1,282 units, respectively. In terms of fuel types, imported hybrid registrations totaled 15,177 units, accounting for 61.1 percent of all import sales. Gasoline, electric and plug-in hybrid models followed at 21.3 percent, 11.1 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Per individual model, Mercedes-Benz's E 200 was the bestselling model, selling 3,083 units, followed by BMW's 520 and Tesla's Model Y, which sold 1,065 and 793 units, respectively. Source: Yonhap News Agency