Jordan second largest importer of used Korean cars in 2013 after 5-year lead

AMMAN — Jordan lost its place as the world’s largest importer of used Korean cars, to Libya in 2013, after five consecutive years of holding that position, according to data from Seoul. 

Figures prepared by the Seoul-based Used Car Association in Korea upon a request by The Jordan Times showed that 63,536 pre-owned vehicles valued at $301 million entered the Jordanian market in 2013. 

Libya’s import of used Korean cars was higher than Jordan as dealers in the North African country bought 88,815 vehicles valued at $306 million. 

Libya’s share of overall used cars exported by Korea was 22.3 per cent, while Jordan’s was 22 per cent, according to the data.

In 2012, Jordan imported 105,903 pre-owned automobiles from Korea, while Libya imported 89,299. 

In 2013, Jordan was followed by Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia. 

Akram Al Basha, executive manager at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, attributed the decline in used car imports from Korea to instability in the Iraqi market, as a major part of the cars imported to Jordan are usually re-exported to the Iraqi market. 

According to Qassem Samarneh, an importer of Korean cars, dealers in Libya used to rely on Jordanian importers to bring cars from Seoul and re-export them to Libya. 

Samarneh expected Jordan to regain its position as largest importer, because security in Libya deteriorated in 2014, which he said may have affected the trouble-hit county’s trade sector. 

Used cars coming from Seoul represent over 70 per cent of the overall volume of Jordan’s automobile imports, Nabil Rumman, president of the Jordan Free Zone Investors Association, told The Jordan Times this week, explaining that Korean cars are popular in the Kingdom because they are affordable for the middle class.

The average price of a used Korean car in the local market ranges between JD6,000 and JD8,000, Rumman said.