The ratio of young customers to total buyers of import cars has surged by about 10 percentage in five years.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the number of buyers of foreign-made cars in their 20s and 30s accounted for 22.7 percent of customers in 2011, compared to 12 percent in 2006.

The proportion young customers in the import automobile market, which stayed below 10 percent 10 years ago, continued to increase to 17.6 percent in 2009 and 20.3 percent in 2010.

For the first 11 months of 2011, the best-selling model among consumers in their 20s was the Nissan Cube. Other popular models included the Golf 2.0TDI of Volkswagen, the Mini Cooper and Audi A4 2.0 TFSI Quattro.

The BMW 520d was picked the most popular car among customers in their 30s, followed by the BMW 528, the Cube, the Golf and the Mini Cooper.

A BMW executive said many imported car models with affordable prices are now also attractive to young drivers, adding that until the 1990s, high-income male customers in their 40s and 50s were the mainstream customers.

They also say the number of Korean female drivers of foreign-made cars has been increasing recently, regardless of age.

An import car company spokeswoman said that many Korean women, including singletons, can afford to buy imported cars, independent of their spouses or parents.

Dealers in the import car industry said that the rise in demand from younger consumers reflects their liberal attitudes and stronger individualism, with the Internet era and increased overseas travel also contributing to a weakening of nationalistic sentiment among youth.

“Young customers just choose what they want of their own free will, without caring much about conventional ideas,” a dealer said.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)