S. Korean car brands gain record sales in China

Automobile brands with a South Korean heritage made a good performance this January with record sales in China, one of the world's biggest auto markets.

Beijing Hyundai Motor Company under the wing of Hyundai Corporation of South Korea sold 35,184 vehicles, jumping 35 percent from a year earlier. Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Company under the aegis of South Korea's Kia Motors sold 17,607 units with a rise of 15 percent year on year.

In particular, Elantra and Elantra HDC contributed a combined sales volume of 26,738 units to Beijing Hyundai, and Tucson and Accent contributed respectively 2,624 and 3,485 units to the venture, whose Chinese parent is Beijing Automobile Investment Co., Ltd.

As for Dongfeng Yueda Kia formed by Kia Motors and its Chinese partners Dongfeng Motor and Jiangsu Yueda Investment, the sales of Cerato and RIO reached 10,016 and 3,981 units separately, and Sportage remained one of the best-selling SUV brands and its sales totaled 3,344 units.