Imported car sales rise 4 pct in July

Sales of imported cars rose 4 percent on-year in July thanks to the growing demand for hybrid models, industry data showed Monday. The number of newly registered imported cars came to 21,977 units in July, up from 21,138 units a year ago, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. BMW was the most popular brand last month, selling 6,380 units, followed by Mercedes-Benz, which sold 4,369 units. Tesla, Volvo and Lexus followed suit, with 2,680 units, 1,411 units and 1,108 units, respectively. In terms of fuel types, imported hybrid registrations totaled 10,518 units, accounting for 47.9 percent of all import sales. Gasoline, electric and plug-in hybrid models followed suit, at 24.4 percent, 20.9 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Per individual model, Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y were the bestselling cars last month, selling 1,623 and 1,055 units, respectively. BMW's 520 ranked third and Mercedes-Benz's E 300 4MATIC came in fourth, with 1,041 and 751 units, respectively. Source: Yonhap News Agency