Riding a BMW in your 30s

Riding an imported car is no longer the privilege of the rich and famous.

Company workers in their 30s are increasingly looking at foreign-made vehicles with the market share of imported cars rising beyond the double digits.

Automotive industry insiders said with leading local carmakers failing to come up with particular options, the market share of imported vehicles is seen to reach 15 percent in three years and 20 percent six to seven years later.

Industry statistics showed that imported automakers sold a total of 130,858 units last year, representing an increase of 24.6 percent over the previous year.

The figure for last year represents a market share of 10 percent in Korea for the first time in history.

It showed an increase of 2 percentage points during a two-year period.

Combined, the imported automobile companies held the third largest share of the Korean car market of 10.0 percent on the heels of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors which held 71.7 percent and GM Motors with its 10.1 percent..

The significance of this change in the market trend is that the purchase of imported cars is no longer confined to the rich with the influx of more compacts from foreign makers.

Prof. Kim Pil-soo of Daelim University said, “One in 10 cars on the street is now foreign and this creates a significant promotional effect, accelerating the pace at which imported cars will take up 15 percent of the local market.”