Hyundai-Kia sell 811,695 cars in China in '09

Shanghai, January 21 (Gasgoo.com) South Korea's biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors sold a combined 811,695 vehicles in China last year, increasing 86% and ranking second in 2009 car sales by overseas automakers in the Chinese market, Yonhap News reported today.

Hyundai Motor saw its car sales in China jump 93.6% year on year to 570,309 units last year, while its affiliate Kia Motors sold 241,386 units, up 70%. The Korean companies followed Volkswagen which ranked first by selling 1.39 million cars in China in 2009, retaining its leading position in China's passenger car sales.

General Motors, VW's arch-rival in China, sold 727,620 sedans through its flagship passenger car venture Shanghai GM, up 63%, and also sold 60,000 Chevrolet Spark mini-cars through its mini-van venture SAIC-GM-Wuling. The U.S. auto giant saw its China sales in 2009 jump 66.9% to 1.83 million units.

China's passenger car sales in 2009 jumped 52.9% to 10.3 million units, mainly driven by increased demand for their small-sized cars thanks to government incentives. From early 2009 China halved the sales tax on small cars to 5% and offered subsidies for rural buyers of clean new vehicles.

Hyundai-Kia Group sold about 4.63 million vehicles worldwide in 2009 and aims to increase global sales by 17%. The two Korean carmakers, operating Chinese ventures Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Yueda Kia, respectively, expect to sell one million vehicles together in China this year.