Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea jumped 21 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Scania and Mercedes-Benz trucks, an industry association said Tuesday.

The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 474 units in October from 392 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.

Imported commercial vehicles currently account for a large share of the domestic commercial vehicle market.

Five major imported commercial vehicle brands -- MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Trucks, Scania and Iveco -- sell trucks, buses and vans in South Korea.

From January to October, overall sales fell 10 percent to 3,565 from 3,959 in the year-ago period amid the pandemic-caused slump, the statement said.

KAIDA expects the new coronavirus outbreak will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment this year. (Yonhap)