Car owners in their 20s and 30s preferr German luxury BMW, while the automaker’s archrival Mercedes-Benz was preferred by an older age group, industry data showed Wednesday.
A total of 144,883 imported cars were newly registered by individual car owners last year, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.
The KAIDA released data on the purchases of imported cars here by brand and the age of their owners for 2016.
(123rf)
BMW was the most-preferred foreign automaker for those in their 20s and 30s, with each group buying 3,295 and 12,390 units of BMW cars, respectively, the data showed.
Mercedes-Benz followed with 2,171 units and 11,170 units, respectively, while Volkswagen came in at third place for both age groups, the KAIDA data showed.
Car owners in the 40s to 70s age group preferred Mercedes-Benz. Those in their 50s and 60s showed a strong preference for the brand.
In the 50-something age group, Mercedes-Benz made up 26.4 percent of the imported cars purchased, with 6,345 units. No. 2 BMW accounted for 16.6 percent and sold 3,981 units.
For those in the 60-something age range, Mercedes-Benz cars accounted for 31.2 percent of imported cars purchased here, or 2,949 units. BMW sold half the amount of its archrival, at 1,455 units, according to KAIDA.
“Over the past few years Mercedes-Benz has aggressively made changes to its models, such as car design, in efforts to expand its customer base. In the bigger picture, the difference between BMW and Mercedes is gradually blurring,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering professor at Daelim University.
The average age of consumers owning Mercedes-Benz’s flagship sedan E-Class dropped to 44.9 years last year, compared to 51.1 in 2010, the high-end automaker said.
Mercedes-Benz Korea sold 56,343 units and scored the top spot as the best-selling import car brand last year for the first time since it began operations here in 2003.
BMW Korea came in at second place, selling 48,459 units, the KAIDA’s data showed.
Meanwhile, the emissions scandal dealt a blow to German carmaker Volkswagen Korea, which dropped in the ratings. In 2015, it was the best-selling foreign auto brand in the 20s to 40s age group, surpassing BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
By Kim Bo-gyung (
lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)
