SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea surged 22 percent last month from a year earlier on demand for new models and aggressive marketing strategies by local dealers, a trade association said Tuesday.

A total of 8,777 imported vehicles were sold here in May, compared with 7,193 units sold a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).

Sales in May also represent a 7 percent increase from a month earlier.

"Registration of new imported vehicles rose in May from April on growing demand for new vehicle models by several brands and their active promotional efforts," said Yoon Dae-sung, a KAIDA official.

Accumulated sales of imported vehicles in the first five months of the year rose 24.4 percent from a year earlier to 42,700 units, according to KAIDA, strongly supporting the organization's earlier forecast that sales of new imported vehicles here will top 100,000 units this year for the first time.

BMW was named the best selling brand for the fourth consecutive month since February with 2,014 units sold here last month, followed by Mercedes Benz with 1,449 units and Volkswagen with 1,331 units.

By size, vehicles with a 2.0-liter or smaller engine were most popular, taking up 45.2 percent of the market share.

By origin, European vehicles dominated the market with a combined 81 percent share of the market, followed by Japanese manufacturers with a 12.8 percent market share and U.S. automakers with 6.3 percent of the market.