On the streets of Seoul, there has lately been a conspicuous increase in the number of high-end imported cars with brand names like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, in stark contrast to five years ago when the country's auto market was virtually monopolized by the two domestic names of Hyundai and Kia.
Statistically imports in 2012 surpassed 10 percent of the South Korean car market for the first time in terms of volume and accounted for 23.2 percent in value. BMW, in particular, became the fourth-largest automaker in the Korean market in terms of sales value.
This growth of imported cars can be attributed to a shift in South Korean car buyers' tastes toward more sophisticated designs, performance characteristics and brand images. More important, this reveals the local manufacturers' inability to design and build products with high added value and attractive brand images.