Seoul: Imported vehicle registrations in South Korea have surged 38-fold over the past three decades, driven by diversifying consumer tastes, an industry association said Thursday. Annual imported car registrations rose from just 6,921 units in 1995 to 263,288 last year, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a press release.

According to Yonhap News Agency, KAIDA Vice Chairman Jung Yoon-young stated that imported brands will continue to offer a variety of options for Korean customers, as they have consistently done over the past 30 years. In the first half of this year, imported car sales climbed 9.9 percent from the previous year to 138,120 units, spurred by strong demand for German models and U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla Inc.

Three German automakers-Volkswagen Group Korea, BMW Group Korea, and Mercedes-Benz Korea-sold a combined 84,211 vehicles in the January-June period, marking a 12 percent increase from the previous year. The membership of KAIDA expanded from eight companies in 1995 to 23 as of June this year, with vehicles now sold under 30 different brands.

In March, Chinese EV maker BYD Co. joined the association as it aims to expand its presence in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Imported brands constituted 18.3 percent of South Korea's passenger vehicle market last year, a significant increase from just 0.6 percent in 1995, the association reported.