SEOUL: Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea continued to fall sharply in December, by over 17% to 20,117 units from 24,366 a year earlier, according to data released by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Full-year sales fell by 7.6% to 225,279, from 243,900 units in 2015, reflecting a sharp fall in Volkswagen-Audi sales after the group’s emissions and fuel-efficiency cover-up came to light. In August last year, the South Korean Ministry of Transport revoked the certifications of some 80 Volkswagen and Audi models in the country.
Sales of Volkswagen-branded vehicles fell by over 63% to 13,178 units last year, with no sales at all reported in December. Audi’s sales fell by close to 49% to 16,718 units in 2016. Mercedes-Benz gained the most from Volkswagen-Audi’s demise, with sales rising by 19.9% to 56,343 units last year, while BMW’ssales rose by just 1.2% to 48,459 units. Last year’s imports represented less than 13% of total vehicle sales in the country.
