Hyundai not modifying sales goal despite slump

Hyundai Motor Group has decided to keep its yearly sales target of 7 million vehicles at home and abroad untouched, despite the union’s partial strike in August and weak domestic demand.

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors suffered a production drop by 130,000 units compared to a monthly average due mainly to the labor dispute last month.

The two automakers also saw sales in the local market fall by 30 percent from the previous year.

“Though we’ve suffered difficulties, we are pinning hopes on overseas manufacturing factories, which recently have improved production capacity,” a group executive said.

He said a Hyundai Motor factory in the overseas market has the rollout capacity of 360,000 units per annum at the present stage, up from an earlier figure of 300,000 units.

Hyundai operates plants in the Czech Republic, Turkey, India, Russia, China and the United States. Kia has factories in Slovakia, China and the U.S.

Earlier this year, group chairman Chung Mong-koo unveiled the sales target for this year at 7 million.

In a message to his staff Chung said the automotive group raised its 2012 sales target by 400,000 vehicles from its sales of 6.6 million units in 2011.

In a bid to achieve the goal at home and abroad, he said, the group has to keep up with fast-changing global trends by setting up an organized cooperation system for better communication among production facilities and sales corporations worldwide.

He said Hyundai-Kia became the world’s top five car maker with combined sales of 6.6 million vehicles in 2011.

“Both have pulled off double-digit growth for three years in a row since 2009 but the rate is expected to sink to 6.1 percent this year.”

He continued to stress that the group “has to establish a foothold as one of the global top companies with more solid management.”

Chung also said that the automotive group’s globalization plan is on track to increase its presence in most of the world’s major automotive markets.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)