Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd., the luxury car affiliate of BMW Group, said Tuesday that South Korea has a big growth potential given its growing appetite for "stylish and individual" cars.

"Korea is a very important landmark destination for people in Asia. More and more people are coming here. That's why we have launched the eighth-generation Phantom in this market, the first among Asian countries," Rolls-Royce Motor's Asia Pacific Regional Director Paul Harris said in a press conference.

Korea's luxury car market is very discerning as customers increasingly want stylish cars, and they prefer individuality that differentiates them from others, he said after the event was held to announce the launch of the all-new Phantom model in Seoul. 

Rolls-Royce Motor entered the Korean market in 2004 and gradually launched the Ghost, Wraith and Dawn models. In the January-September period, Rolls-Royce "already" sold 67 cars in South Korea, a gain of 60 percent from a year earlier, the regional director said.

South Korea is the second-biggest market for Rolls-Royce after China in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of sales, he said.

In recent years, Rolls-Royce has aggressively expanded its operations in the country by opening two showrooms, one in Seoul and one in Busan, and a brand studio inside BMW Korea's driving center in Incheon, just west of the capital city, the carmaker said. 

German carmaker BMW Group acquired the Britain-based carmaker in 1998 and launched the fully revamped seventh-generation Phantom model in 2003. On Tuesday, Rolls-Royce placed the New Phantom in the Korean market.

The New Phantom, mated with a 6.8-liter gasoline engine and a 12-speed twin turbo engine, is priced at 630 million won-740 million won ($556,000-$653,000).

In South Korea where 6 out of 10 imported vehicles sold are from Germany, BMW Group, which includes the MINI brand, sold 48,487 vehicles in the January-September period, up 27 percent from 38,219 units a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. (Yonhap)