Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea continued to rise last year with the number of newly registered foreign vehicles increasing by eleven-point-eight percent from a year earlier.

The Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association(KAIDA) said Friday that a total of 260-thousand-705 foreign vehicles were registered last year, marking the first time the number has surpassed the 260-thousand.

Imported vehicles also took up a record 16-point-seven percent of the domestic automobile market in 2018.

The most popular among foreign vehicles were Mercedes-Benz cars with about 71-thousand units sold last year, followed by BMW with 50-thousand units, and Toyota with nearly 17-thousand units sold.

An official from KAIDA said the increased sales were aided by the resumption of sales by Audi Volkswagen following its emissions cheating scandal.