Even amid a struggling car industry, sales of Mercedes-Benz and BMW increased a whopping 20 percent in April. This is in stark contrast to a year-on 15-percent drop in sales for domestic car-makers. Demand remains strong for high-end cars and German auto-makers are scrambling to launch small and mid-size cars targeted at 20 and 30-something high-income earners, say industry watchers.

According to a report released Thursday by Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, Benz sold 761 cars, up by a staggering 25.8 percent from March. BMW recorded the third-highest monthly sales of 939 units, up 17.5 percent. 376 BMW 5-series mid-size sedans and 243 Mercedes-Benz E Class mid-size sedans were sold. Domestic car manufacturers, like GM Daewoo, meanwhile, sold only 87 units of large sedan Veritas, while Ssangyong Motor sold 337 units of Chairman W, and Kia sold 748 units of Opirus. Volkswagen sold 656 cars and Audi sold 527 cars.

Meanwhile, Japanese car-makers failed to show robust performance. Honda ranked seventh with sales of 225 cars -- though it occupied the top slot until last year.