China becomes biggest market for Hyundai vehicles

Shanghai, May 31 (Gasgoo.com) Hyundai Motor said yesterday that it sold more vehicles in China than in its home North Korean market again in April, and China has become the biggest market for the leading Korean automaker, JoongAng Daily reported.

Hyundai Motor sold 57,014 vehicles in China last month, compared to 55,339 units in Korea. The company's China sales overtook Korea in January, March and April this year. February sales dropped due to output decline caused by a facility upgrade at its production line of its Beijing venture.

In the first four months, Hyundai's vehicle sales in China totaled 218,603 units, slightly lower than Korean sales of 223,369, but the company said the Chinese market has actually become larger than the Korean market if the facility upgrade was taken into account.

Hyundai attributed the sales increase in China to the popularity of the Yuedong compact sedan (known as Avante HD in Korea), and Elantra (Avante XD), and the ix35 compact SUV (Tucson ix).

Yuedong was the best-seller in China's compact car market in April, reclaiming the No. 1 position from Chinese automaker BYD's F3 model for the first time in six months. It made up 36.9% of Hyundai's China sales in April.

Hyundai Motor hopes to sell 670,000 cars in China this year, mainly through its local joint venture with Beijing Auto. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors aim to sell a combined 1 million units in China for the year, up 23%.