ID :
119409
Fri, 04/30/2010 - 02:31
Auther :

Hyundai, Kia aim to sell 23 pct more in China this year


SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading carmaker,
and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. aim to sell a combined 1 million units in
China for the year, up 23 percent from last year, the chief of Hyundai Motor
Automotive Group said Thursday.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold 570,309 and 241,386 units in China last year,
respectively.
"We have to meet the 1 million target in China for the year, thus solidifying our
presence in the country," head Chung Mong-koo was quoted as saying in China in a
statement released by the group.
"China, emerging as the world's largest market, is becoming the battlefield to
set the future of Hyundai and Kia Motors," he said.
Chung is staying in China to attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Expo
in Shanghai, slated for Friday.
Chung also visited Kia Motors' second plant in Yancheng in the eastern province
of Jiangsu and encouraged employees there.
The plant that currently produces 150,000 units annually will have an annual
production capacity of 300,000 by the end of the year, when its expansion of
facilities is completed.
Kia Motors will have an annual production capacity of 430,000 units in China when
the expansion is completed, it said.
Shares of Hyundai Motor closed at 135,500 won on the Seoul bourse, up 3.05
percent. Kia Motors gained 1.89 percent to end at 26,950 won.
sam@yna.co.kr
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