Vehicle sales of German carmakers Volkswagen AG and Audi AG in South Korea plunged last month after the Korean government banned the sale of these two brands’ car models implicated in a recent emissions scandal.

According to Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) on Tuesday, the Korean unit of Volkswagen sold 76 cars in August, a significant drop from 3,145 cars sold during the same period last year. August sales also fell 82 percent from 425 cars in the previous month when its car sales started to skid in the country.

The crash in sales comes after the country’s Ministry of Environment last month cancelled certifications for 80 Audi Volkswagen Korea models in 32 variants that gained certification with falsified documents on emission test results and prohibited their sale in the local market, the strongest-ever punitive action against a single car brand. Following the ban, Volkswagen managed to sell only a limited number of models - the gasoline-based Volkswagen CC sedan and sport utility vehicle Touareg - in Korea.

Audi sold 476 cars in August, down 83 percent from 2,796 units sold a year ago. A fewer number of Audi models were affected by the ban compared with the number of Volkswagen cars whose sales were suspended, but its sales plummeted because it was not allowed to sell its flagship A6 35 TDI and A6 35 TDI Quattro models that used to be the most popular in the Korean market.

The drop in sales of Audi and Volkswagen cars took a toll on the country’s overall import car sales in August.

A total of 15,932 import cars were newly registered last month, down 12.5 percent from 18,200 units in the same period last year. However, considering that sales of Audi and Volkswagen fell by more than 5,000 cars, other import carmakers must have benefitted from the certification cancelation of Audi and Volkswagen models.

By brand, Mercedes-Benz cars were sold the most in August at 4,835 units, up 32 percent from 3,662 units last year. BMW ranked second after selling 3,047 units, albeit a 16.3 percent on-year drop.

The top three best-selling import car models in August were all of Mercedes-Benz. A total of 2,181 units of two E-Class models - E300 and E220d - were sold in Korea last month, ranking first and second, followed by its C-Class model C220d with 573 units sold last month.

By Park Chang-young

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]