SEOUL: Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors, South Korea's biggest automakers, aim to increase sales 21 per cent this year selling new cars and sport-utility vehicles in India, China and other overseas markets.
The automakers expect to sell a combined 4.8 million vehicles globally this year, compared with an estimated 3.97 million for 2007, Seoul-based Hyundai Motor said today. Hyundai will sell 3.11 million vehicles, a record.
Hyundai and Kia plan to release at least five new models, including the Genesis premium sedan and the Mohave SUV, this year to win customers from Toyota Motor in China and overcome slower growth in the U.S. Chairman Chung Mong Koo is relying on emerging markets to boost sales as consumers in the US, the world's largest auto market, may slow down purchases.
Car sales will fall this year in North America, Standard and Poor's said.
