[THE INVESTOR] The number of automobiles imported from the US has more than tripled since the Korea-US free trade agreement took effect.

According to local automotive industry data, the number of vehicles imported from the US went from 13,669 units in 2011 to 49,096 units in 2015, rising by a factor of 3.6.

The Korea-US FTA took effect in 2012. 


In terms of value, automobile imports in 2011 came in at about US$363 million. The figure for last year came in at over US$1.24 billion.

In comparison, Korea’s automobile imports increased by a factor of 2.3 going from 105,000 units to 244,000 units over the same period.

By carmaker, Ford saw the biggest rise of 147.6 percent, followed by Chrysler, whose sales increased 88.7 percent over the 4-year period.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)