Imported car sales fall 13 pct in Feb. amid chip shortages

SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 13 percent in February from a year earlier as chip shortages continued to disrupt vehicle production, an industry association said Friday.

The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 19,454 units last month from 22,290 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.

"Chip supply issues continued to weigh on vehicle production and sales last month," the statement said.

The bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 350 4MATIC sedan and E 250 sedan and BMW's 520 sedan, it said.

In February, three German brands -- Audi-Volkswagen Korea, BMW Group Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea -- sold a combined 14,738 units, down 10 percent from 16,424 the previous year.

German cars accounted for seven out of 10 imported vehicles sold in Asia's fourth-biggest economy last month, KAIDA said.

Three Japanese carmakers -- Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and its independent brand, Lexus -- sold a combined 1,009 units in February, down 23 percent from 1,311 a year earlier.

Imported brands accounted for 18.1 percent of the Korean passenger vehicle market in January, down from 18.65 percent a year ago. Their market share for February will be available next month, KAIDA said.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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