Imported commercial car sales dip 31 pct in April

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea sank 31 percent last month from a year earlier on an economic slowdown, an industry association said Monday.

The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 363 units in April from 526 a year ago, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).

"Demand for commercial vehicles began to decrease last year amid a slowing economy, and their sales have been also affected by the new coronavirus outbreak this year," a KAIDA official said.

Imported commercial vehicles currently account for a large share of the domestic commercial vehicle market.

Five major imported commercial vehicle brands -- MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Trucks, Scania and Iveco -- sell trucks, buses and vans.

From January to April, overall sales declined 16 percent to 1,471 from 1,744 in the year-ago period, KAIDA said.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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