Mercedes-Benz ranks 1st in S. Korea among most-selling foreign car category

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz became the most-selling foreign car brand in South Korea for the first time in 33 months due to demand for new models, industry data showed Tuesday.

Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 3,538 cars here in September, up 45.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).

The luxury brand ranked first here in the most-selling foreign car category for the first time since December 2011.

The brisk sales came on robust demand for new models, including new C-class and GLA-class models, and lasting demand for E-class models.

It was followed by German automaker BMW, which kept the top position in the previous nine months, with sales of 3,303 cars last month. Audi ranked third with 2,349 units sold here, trailed by Volkswagen with 2,289 cars and Ford with 733 units. Toyota came next with 666 cars sold.

Volkswagen's Tiguan 2.0 TDI BlueMotion was the most popular model with 719 units sold, beating E220 CDI of Mercedes-Benz with 610 units sold. Audi's A6 35 TDI quattro came next with 446 units sold.

Amid the lasting demand for foreign luxury brands, foreign car sales in South Korea jumped 34.4 percent from a year earlier to 17, 027 units in September.

During the January-September period, the sales reached 145,844 units, up 25.6 percent from the same period of last year.

European cars were most popular, with 13,490 vehicles sold. The figure accounted for 79.2 percent of the total, followed by Japanese brands with a 12.6 percent share and U.S. models with 8.2 percent.

Vehicles with an engine capacity of 2 liters or less were most popular, posting a 51.4 percent share. It was trailed by cars with an engine displacement of between 2-3 liters, which took up 38 percent.