Seoul: Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea surged by 37.6 percent in January compared to the same month last year, driven largely by a significant increase in demand for electric vehicle (EV) models from Tesla and BYD, as revealed by industry data on Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, new registrations of imported cars rose to 20,960 units in January, up from 15,229 units recorded in the same period last year, as reported by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA). The top three selling models for the month were the Mercedes-Benz E 200 sedan, the BMW 520 sedan, and the Tesla Model Y.

Sales of Tesla vehicles experienced a dramatic increase, jumping to 1,966 units last month from a mere five units a year earlier. Meanwhile, BYD's sales reached 1,347 units, marking a successful first year of local operations for BYD Korea Co., the South Korean branch of China's BYD Co., which began reporting sales in March of last year.

A KAIDA official noted the unusual trend for January, where customers typically delay EV purchases pending the announcement of government subsidies. However, this year saw a rush to acquire Tesla models due to their competitive pricing, despite the status of subsidies.

In terms of fuel type, hybrid vehicles dominated sales, accounting for 66.6 percent with 13,949 units sold. This was followed by EVs at 21.1 percent, gasoline models at 11.6 percent, and diesel cars at 0.7 percent.

German automakers Volkswagen Group Korea, BMW Group Korea, and Mercedes-Benz Korea collectively sold 13,157 units in January, a 21.3 percent rise from the 10,843 units sold in the same month last year. German brands represented about 70 percent of the imported vehicles sold in South Korea during January.