Hyundai Motor’s 6-month sales rise 2.6% in China

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Hyundai Motor Co. sold more than 370,000 vehicles in China in the first six months of this year, market data showed Thursday, showing a steady performance by South Korea’s largest automaker in the world’s largest auto market.

The China Passenger Car Association, which provides automotive statistics every month, said Hyundai Motor sold 372,801 units in China during the January-June period, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier.

In the month of June, Hyundai Motor sold 58,150 units, down from 62,350 units a month earlier.

The growth during the six-month period was attributed to stronger sales of the automaker’s compact cars such as the Elantra.

The Sonata YF sedan has also contributed to boosting overall sales on the back of rising demand for mid-sized cars in China, the CPCA report showed.

Meanwhile, Kia Motors Corp., the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, sold a total of 221,096 vehicles in China in the first half of this year, driven by the sales of its small K2 car.

The six-month number represents a 16.3 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

The overall sales volume of China’s passenger vehicle market reached 7 million units in the six-month period, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier.

In June alone, the total sales rose 12.4 percent on-year to 1.14 million units.

It was the second month the country’s monthly car sales posted double-digit growth, suggesting the Chinese market for passenger automobiles continues its overall upward trend.