Sales of imported vehicles in Korea fell 10 percent in January

Sales of imported vehicles in Korea declined by more than 10 percent in January from a year earlier due to typically low seasonal demand and supply shortage of some brands, industry data showed on Friday. The number of foreign cars sold last month reached 18,198 units, down 13.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (Kaida).

The tally also marks an 11 percent drop from a month earlier, the data showed. In 2018, sales of foreign cars continued to rise, helped by firm demand for foreign brands and the resumption of sales of Audi Volkswagen.

The number of newly registered foreign vehicles reached 260,705, up 11.8 percent from 2017.

Foreign passenger cars made up 16.7 percent of all vehicles that were registered in the country last year, shattering the previous record high of 15.5 percent in 2015.