Imported car sales in South Korea jumped 25.5 percent on-year in April, helped by better supply and promotional programs, a Korean trade association said Friday.

A monthly record of 16,712 new foreign-made cars were sold in the one-month period, compared with 13,320 units a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said.

Annual foreign car sales hit a record high of 156,497 units in 2013.

The latest tally also showed a 6.2 percent increase in car sales vis-a-vis March when foreign original car equipment manufacturers sold 15,733 units.

“The move by companies to improve supply and better promotional campaigns helped buoy sales,” KAIDA executive manager Yoon Dae-sung said.

For the first four months of this year, the association said 61,146 imported vehicles were sold in the country, up a healthy 26.6 percent from 48,284 units sold in the first four months of 2013. (Yonhap)