European auto imports eating into sales of Korean auto giants 유럽차 국내 수입, 한국차 수

For the first time in a very long time, Koreans are spending more on European brand cars than Korea′s automakers make exporting their vehicles overseas.
In particular,... sales of German brands like BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz have gone through the roof after Korea′s free trade deal with the EU came into effect a few years back.
Shin Se-min reports.
"A few years ago,… European automakers called Korea an impossible market to crack. But this year, European car exports to Korea are on its path to exceed Korean exports to Europe."
The nation′s customs data shows the value of car imports from European countries was up 60 percent to over 4 and a half billion U.S. dollars in the first 9 months of the year,… whereas Korea′s car exports stood around 4-point-4 billion.
Local sales of European cars have been on the rise, becoming so popular that some auto retailers have had to turn away customers because of low supplies this year.
So why this shift in consumers′ tastes?
"Better gas mileage bought me."
"The comfort of the ride is much higher,… not to mention its widely known brand power."
And the lowered price tags for these wheels, driven by the Korea-EU free trade agreement that went into effect in 2011, brought more drivers to lean towards European brands.
Just this year alone, foreign car sales in the country rose over 33 percent,... while local automaker Hyundai only saw a 3 percent increase.
And over in Europe, the depreciation of the Japanese currency has affected Korea′s footing.
"The performance of Korean automakers in the European market is falling... and this trend is likely to continue. Even Hyundai and Kia Motors, which have manufacturing plants located in Europe for better supply to the local market,... are losing ground because of lowered competitiveness due to the weak yen."
But as the global auto industry is moving towards green cars,... the analyst added Korean car makers should look to improving their advanced technology features,... if they don′t want to fall too far behind the competition.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.