Sales of imported trucks in South Korea surged by over 70 percent last year, despite a contraction of about 7 percent in local sales of all imported vehicles, an industry tally showed Sunday.
The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said a total of 7,726 imported trucks were sold here in 2016, up 75.8 percent from 4,396 units in the previous year.
The number of foreign truck sales in South Korea had stayed around the 2,000-unit level between 2009 and 2013 before rising steadily in the following years due to the implementation of free trade deals with the United States and the European Union. Indeed, the figure had climbed from 2,395 units in 2013 to 3,930 units in 2014 and 4,396 units in 2015.
Market leader Volvo Trucks Korea reported that it sold a record 2,600 trucks in the local market last year.
Industry officials said despite the steady increase in foreign trucks sold here, their after-sales service networks are greatly insufficient.
Volvo runs 29 service shops nationwide, while other firms operate 10 or less. (Yonhap)