Hyundai Motor ranks No. 4 in January auto sales in China

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- The Chinese venture of Hyundai Motor Co., South
Korea's top carmaker, improved its auto sales ranking in January in the world's
second-largest auto market despite cooling demand, a company official said
Thursday.
Beijing Hyundai Motor ranked No. 4 last month with the Chinese venture selling
35,183 units for the month, accounting for 7.3 percent of the market, according
to the official. Hyundai ranked No. 7 in China last year.
The automaker trails bigger ventures in China under General Motors Corp. and
Volkswagen AG .
"This year, Hyundai is better positioned to sell small cars in China as the
Chinese government offered tax cuts and subsidies for people who buy smaller
vehicles," the Hyundai official said.
Previously, Hyundai said January sales of its Chinese venture jumped 35 percent
from a year earlier to 42,790 units.
For all of 2009, Hyundai aims to boost sales in China by 22 percent to 360,000
vehicles, compared with 294,508 units in 2008, the company said early this month.
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