Imported car sales in South Korea rose 19.6 percent on-year to a record high last year as foreign brands continue to make inroads into the country’s automobile market, a trade association said Tuesday.

A total of 156,497 foreign-made cars were sold in 2013, compared with 130,858 units in the previous year, topping the 150,000 mark for the first time, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA). This represents a greater gain than the 8 percent increase predicted in late 2012 when it estimated 143,000 foreign cars may be sold for the whole of 2013.

“Aggressive marketing and popularity of diesel-engined vehicles helped fuel demand, particularly among young people,” a KAIDA official said.

The sales increase is in contrast to the 2.1 percent drop in domestic sales by the five local carmakers led by industry leader Hyundai Motor Co. Local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Hyundai and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. have been losing local market share to foreign rivals for the past few years, despite doing well overseas.

KAIDA said among imported cars brands, German companies BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz ranked in the top three in terms of cars sold, followed by Audi and Toyota.

BMW sold 33,066 vehicles overall, with sales of Volkwagen and Mercedes-Benz vehicles reaching 25,649 and 24,780 units each. BMW’s midsize 520d was the best seller with sales hitting 8,346 units.

Ford ranked sixth, with the Mini, Lexus, Honda and Chrysler making up the rest of the top 10 list last year.

All told, European cars accounted for 78.5 percent of total sales, followed by 14.1 percent by Japanese cars and 7.4 percent by U.S. brands. (Yonhap News)