Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local unit of the German luxury carmaker, ranked the No. 1 foreign automaker here in the first half of this year on the back of a wider range of models being offered, industry experts said Wednesday.

A total of 37,723 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were sold between January and June this year, up 13,000 units compared to the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

“The huge popularity of the new E Class released last year triggered the demand. Mercedes-Benz’s efforts to lower the age of its customer group by offering relatively affordable models with design to meet the taste of younger drivers paid off,“ said Kwon Soon-wu, an analyst of SK Securities.

“The Audi-Volkswagen emissions scandal also partly affected Mercedes-Benz’s sales increase with Audi consumers shifting to affordable models offered by Benz.”

Sales of Audi and Volkswagen cars have been banned here since last year following the diesel emissions scandal. Between January and June this year, Audi Korea sold 919 vehicles of models that had kept their sales licenses, KAIDA said.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Korea sold a record 7,783 units in June -- the best-ever monthly car sales by a foreign carmaker in Korea, according to KAIDA. Its sales accounted for 33 percent of total imported car sales last month and more than 6,500 units sold in Japan.

Named the best-selling imported car brand here in 2016, Mercedes-Benz Korea has rapidly increased its share of Korea’s imported car market by offering multiple models.

Mercedes-Benz Korea also invested 74.3 billion won ($64.8 million) in the first half of this year to open four showrooms, four service centers and two showrooms for certified used cars, the company said.

It is in the process of training 94 product experts to offer in-depth explanations to customers. It also hired some 400 workers at its headquarters and dealers in the first half of this year.

Two new models added to its lineup earlier this year also helped the company’s sales boost, including the New GLC Coupe introduced in April, which raised the company’s sales in the SUV segment by 32.5 percent on-year.

To continue the sales momentum, Mercedes-Benz Korea will roll out two new models -- the new E-Class Coupe and cabriolet -- alongside a partially changed version of the New S Class equipped with connected car services in the second half of this year, the company said.

It will also release a plug-in hybrid version of the best-selling GLC SUV later in the year. 

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)