Mercedes - Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis shares last year ‘ s performance during the New Year ’ s conference at Hotel Shilla in central Seoul . ( Mercedes - Benz Korea ) Mercedes - Benz Korea , the local importer and distributor of the German automaker , will launch 20 models , including two plug - in hybrids , this year , with an aim to sell over 70 , 000 units , the company said Monday . “ All - time best performance was achieved through active investment and effort to provide differentiated customer experience in 2017 , ” said Mercedes - Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis during the New Year ’ s conference held at Hotel Shilla in central Seoul . “ It will not be easy to maintain the growth which has been beyond our expectation for the past two years . However , we will continuously endeavor to realize future mobility vision through ceaseless innovation and to provide the best service and brand experience which lead to customer impression . ” Surpassing the 60 , 000 unit mark for the first time among import carmakers , Mercedes - Benz Korea sold 68 , 861 units in 2017 , up 22 . 2 percent year - on - year , the company said . The company has flagged No . 1 in sales among import carmakers for two consecutive years . The carmaker has set its sales goal for this year at over 70 , 000 units , similar to last year ‘ s sales . Starting with its first electrified vehicle EQ in the first half of this year , Mercedes - Benz Korea will roll out 20 models -- nine new ones and 11 facelifted models -- this year . The E - Class convertible will also join the flagship E - Class segment , strengthening the carmaker ’ s best - selling segment here . In response to rising sales , the company will invest 35 billion won ( $ 32 . 9 million ) to expand its distribution center in Anseong , Gyeonggi Province . It will also add five more after - service centers from the current 55 centers nationwide . Customers here had expressed dissatisfaction over a lack of after - service centers , which is 26 centers short compared to its German rival BMW Korea . As part of its CSR commitments , Mercedes - Benz Korea had donated 4 . 1 billion won in 2017 , the company told The Korea Herald . “ We are committed to top this amount in 2018 . It ’ s the quality and initiatives that is more important than quantity , ” Psillakis said . On last year ’ s performance , Korea has become the sixth biggest market for Mercedes - Benz .   By Kim Bo - gyung ( lisakim 425 @ heraldcorp . com ) [ 코리아 헤럴드 ] [ K - POP HERALD ] [ 페이스북 ] <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >