BEIRUT: According to the latest statistics released by the Automobile Importers’ Association, Lebanon’s new car sales rose 24.97 percent year-on-year during the month of December 2012 to 3,428 vehicles, up from 2,743 vehicles in December 2011.

On a cumulative basis, new car sales rose by 9.31 percent during the full year 2012 to 35,477 cars from 32,455 vehicles sold in the year 2011.

Broken down by import source, sales of Korean cars were up 17.13 percent to 15,993 cars, accompanied by a 4.94 percent annual increase in the sale of European cars to 7,216 and an 85.66 percent rally in the sales of Chinese cars to 466.

Korean cars continued to outperform other brands, with a market share of 45.08 percent, followed by Japanese at 26.95 percent, European at 20.34 percent, American at 6.32 percent and Chinese-made cars at 1.31 percent.