South Korea : Total Imported Car Sales 1471 in March ( and this is up )

SEOUL April 7, 2003; Dow Jones reported that South Korea's imported car sales in March reached 1,471 units, up 26% on year, but the on-year sales growth slowed from the previous month, reflecting weakening consumer sentiment in the country, said the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on Monday.

February's on-year sales growth stood at 66%.

According to a central bank survey issued last week, more Koreans expect economic conditions to deteriorate in the coming six months due mainly to the war in Iraq.

The survey also showed more Koreans in the first quarter than in the fourth quarter were planning to cut their spending over the coming six months.

On month, March's sales climbed 14% from February's 1,288 units sold. Auto sales are generally slow in February, Kaida said in a statement.

Kaida also attributed the on-month rise to financing incentives for many foreign car brands that began last month.

BMW, the most popular foreign car brand in South Korea, cut the annual interest rate on the purchase of its BMW5-series models to 3.5%-5.5% in March from 11% and extended a similar incentive program in April.

Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler AG and General Motors Corp. also provided financing incentives or buyback guarantee programs on the purchase of some models in March.

The best-selling foreign model in March was the Lexus ES300 from Toyota Motors Corp. , with 139 cars sold. This was followed by the Mercedes-Benz E240 and BMW 530.

BMW remained as the most popular foreign car brand, selling 438 cars last month and importing 17 models.