The import automobile industry has broken its all-time sales record for the second consecutive month this year.

After attaining record figures in April, foreign carmakers saw their combined sales come to a fresh high of 13,411 units in May, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said Thursday.

Data from the foreign automakers’ lobby KAIDA showed that the import brands’ May sales surpassed the April tally of 13,320 units. Their sales have continued to climb since January ― to 10,556 units in February and 12,063 units in March.

The May figure was noteworthy as minor players such as Toyota Motor and Chrysler took the lead in the sales growth, whereas the four big companies ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi ― maintained the status quo.

While all four major brands saw their sales edge down from April figures, Toyota Motor Korea posted a 128 percent monthly growth from 576 units in April to 1,314 units in May.

It offered a discount of 3 million won ($2,700) per vehicle. The automaker sold 707 Camry sedans, 174 Camry hybrids and 307 Prius hybrids in May, compared to 170, 105 and 162 units, respectively, a month earlier.

Porsche saw its monthly sales exceed 200 units for the first time in history in the local market.

In contrast, domestic carmakers including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have reported sagging performance. Their May sales fell by 1.9 percent on a year-on-year basis to post 98,655 units.

The import brands continued to grab over 10 percent of the Korean automobile market every month this year ― 12.9 percent in January, 11.5 percent in February, 10.9 percent in March, 11.9 percent in April and 12 percent in May.

Relatively cheap import cars with price tags under 30 million won recently emerged as a threat not only to Hyundai and Kia but also to companies which operate manufacturing factories in Korea ― GM, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)