Gasoline-driven import cars that have been sidestepped by the popularity of their diesel siblings in South Korea made a comeback in September by capturing a 30 percent share of sales, industry sources said Monday.

Data by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) showed that of the 17,027 new cars sold last month, 5,105 units had gasoline engines, with 11,174 vehicle, or 65.6 percent, having diesels. Sales figures also included 743 hybrids and five electric cars.

September marked the first time this year that sales of gasoline-driven cars hit the 30 percent mark after 33.8 percent in December 2013.

Solid demand for such models as the BMW's 528 xdrive, Mercedes-Benz E300 4Matic, Volkswagen Passat 1.8 TSI and CC played a role in reviving sales of gasoline driven cars, the association said.

Diesel cars, which played a marginal role in the local import car market, first surpassed 1,000 average monthly sales in 2009 and outpaced gasoline vehicle sales for the first time in March 2012.

Since then, local consumers drawn by the 20-30 percent better fuel efficiency of diesels compared to gasoline have predominantly preferred this engine type, letting European, and in particular German, carmakers dominate the market. Last month, European cars enjoyed a 79.2 percent market share among import cars.

A local Japanese car dealer said the rise in gasoline-driven cars may reflect demand by local consumers for quieter cars with less vibration with engine noise intruding into the cabin. Japanese carmakers offer very little diesel choices in their lineup.

"Diesels started to get popular 3-4 years ago, and as owners of these vehicles opt to change their vehicles for new ones, they may be switching for quieter gasoline alternatives," he said. 

On the other hand, German car importers have said demand for diesels remained unchanged, and that September's numbers reflected the release of new vehicles running on gasoline and various marketing moves to sell such cars by automakers. (Yonhap)