Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks, an industry association said Friday.

The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 318 units in August from 311 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.

"Increased sales of Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks helped the monthly results," 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 in South Korea.

From January to August, overall sales fell 17 percent to 2,708 from 3,263 in the year-ago period, the statement said.

KAIDA expects the new coronavirus outbreak will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment this year. (Yonhap)