Hyundai Motor ranks No.4 in China Jan car sales

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 per cent 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 per cent from a year earlier to 42,790 units.

For all of 2009, Hyundai aims to boost sales in China by 22 per cent to 360,000 vehicles, compared with 294,508 units in 2008, the company said early this month.