BMW sold the largest number of imported vehicles in Korea last year to beat its top rival and fellow German carmaker Mercedes Benz, according to figures from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

BMW sold a total of 47,877 vehicles to nab first place, followed by Mercedes Benz, which sold 46,994 units.

Volkswagen came in at third with 35,778. Its Tiguan 2.0 TDI BlueMotion was the best-selling foreign car for the year despite the emissions scandal the carmaker has been embroiled in since last year.

Audi took fourth place, selling 32,538 cars, followed by Ford with 10,358 units.

In total, some 243,900 imported cars were registered in Korea last year to reflect a 24.2 percent increase from 2014.

European cars sold the most, followed by those manufactured in Japan and the U.S.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)