Beijing Hyundai H1 sales up 28% to 329,000 vehicles

Shanghai, July 22 (Gasgoo.com) In the first half of the year, Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a joint venture in China between Beijing Auto and Hyundai Motor, sold 329,000 vehicles, up 27.9% from a year earlier, media reported yesterday.

In June alone, Beijing Hyundai sold 54,083 vehicles, up 14.2% y/y, and another Chinese venture Dongfeng Yue Kia sold 25,003 vehicles, up 19% y/y, and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group's vehicle sales in the Chinese market increase 16.2% year on year (y/y) to 79,086 units.

Hyundai-Kia sold a total of 489,500 vehicles in China in the first half of the year, up 39.9% from a year earlier, and it aims to sell a combined 1 million units in China this year, up 23%. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold 570,309 and 241,386 vehicles in China last year, respectively.

The joint venture has revised its sales goal from 670,000 units to 729,500 for this year, up 28% from 570,309 units last year. The company ranked fourth in China's auto sales growth in 2009 with 93.6%.

The company's first-half sales were partly boosted by strong demand for its two new compact crossovers SUVs -- the Hyundai ix35 and Hyundai Tucson. It will launch its new Verna sedan in August.

Beijing Hyundai now operates two auto production plants, with an annual capacity of 600,000 cars, and is considering building a third plant in Beijing, with a capacity of more than 300,000 vehicles.