German brands top S.Korea's imported car sales market

German automakers sold 187,000 cars in South Korea last year to account for 61.7 and top the country's imported car market, according to data by the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).

US automakers sold 46,000 cars to account for 15.2 percent for the No. 2 spot to overtake Japanese carmakers, which sold 21,000 units for a 7 percent share to slip to third place.

A big factor was the boycott of Japanese products over trade and wartime legacy disputes.

Sales of Japanese cars dropped for two consecutive years in South Korea after Japan placed export curbs on Seoul in 2019.

Meanwhile, sales of US-made cars have been increasing since 2017, as a result of the US-South Korea free tree trade agreement.

South Korea became the ninth-largest auto market for the US in 2020.

The US shipped 67,000 vehicles, or 2.8 percent of its total auto exports, to South Korea last year.

The South Korean brands' market share in the US auto market is also increasing, with Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. combining for 8.5 percent in 2020, almost as high as their largest market share of 8.9 percent in 2011, according to KAMA.

In the first five months of 2021, Hyundai and Kia took a 9.4 percent market share in the US.

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co, also bolstered auto exports to the US, shipping 233,000 units last year.

Of the 227,000 small SUVs sold in the US, 182,000 units, or 80.2 percent, were produced by GM Korea.