Global sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's top two automakers, are likely to exceed the 8 million unit mark in 2015 for the second consecutive year on the back of brisk demand for new cars, industry sources said Sunday.
In the first 11 months of the year, Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 7.19 million vehicles worldwide, down 0.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Despite the slight drop, the two carmakers will likely see their full-year sales hover just above 8 million, given the fact that car demand usually surges in December, according to the sources. Hyundai and Kia had originally targeted shipping 8.2 million units this year.
Last year, combined sales of Hyundai and Kia reached slightly over 8 million vehicles.
In December last year, the flagships of the world's fifth-largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group sold a combined 758,000 units, much higher than their average monthly number of 659,000 vehicles in the January-November period that year.
"Typically, sales grow sharply in December," a Hyundai official said. "Shipments have recently been strong."
Industry watchers said full-year sales of Hyundai and Kia will exceed the 8 million mark without much difficulty should its shipments continue at the current pace.
Hyundai and Kia are widely expected to set their global sales target for next year at around 8.2 million units. (Yonhap)
