BMW, Audi chasing Mercedes-Benz

The BMW 5 Series / Courtesy of BMW Korea

By Nam Hyun-woo

BMW and Audi are gearing up to catch market leader Mercedes-Benz in Korea's highly competitive imported car market with the two brands recording a strong sales in recent weeks, data showed Wednesday.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), BMW and Audi delivered 4,249 and 1,996 vehicles in September, respectively, claiming the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in last month's imported vehicle sales rankings.

Mercedes-Benz sold 7,707 vehicles, extending its No. 1 streak to over three years.

BMW showed a sharp rebound, with the brand's September sales up 107.1 percent from 2,052 a year earlier. It was the second consecutive month that sales had surpassed 4,000.

The rebound came after BMW saw sales tumble last year when nearly 30 of its vehicles ― mostly the best-selling 5 Series diesel models ― caught fire while being driven. Since then, BMW has recalled more than 100,000 vehicles and pledged to offer new cars to customers whose diesel vehicles caught fire.

After efforts to regain customer trust, the brand's sales have been showing a steady recovery, led by the 5 Series.

In September, the 530i was BMW's top-selling vehicle with 734 sold, followed by the 530i xDrive with 614, the 520d with 531 and the 520i with 421. The X3 2.0d SUV also joined the top five with 224 vehicles delivered.

“Along with the steady popularity of the 5 Series, the X3 and other SUVs also showed the best sales of this year in September,” a BMW Korea official said. “We are expecting momentum in sales, as the new 8 Series and other large segment models are ready for the fourth quarter of this year.”

The Audi Q7 / Courtesy of Audi

Audi, which sold only 205 vehicles in August, showed 873.7 percent monthly growth in September, after delivering 1,996 vehicles.

Audi also has been in a sales slump this year, selling only 4,763 vehicles from January to August, as it failed to secure models that passed strengthened domestic emission certification by the environment ministry.

Audi attributed the rebound to the delivery of the Q7 45 TFSI Quattro, which was launched here in August and delivered last month.

Audi sold 1,513 Q7s in September, accounting for 75.8 percent of the brand's total deliveries in the month. It was the second-highest selling imported vehicle, following the Mercedes-Benz E300 with 1,883 sales. The A5 Sportback 45 also contributed to the rebound, with 460 vehicles sold.

“This month's volume had noticeable growth as the vehicles ordered earlier began delivery,” an Audi Korea official said. “We will roll out the new A6 sedan next week, which is a volume model, and further sales growth is expected later this month.”

Meanwhile, the number of imported vehicles registered in September was 20,204, up 17.3 percent from a year earlier, according to KAIDA.