Hyundai to lift its China sales next year
Hyundai plans to build the third production plant and lift its sales by up to 25 percent in 2010.
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has achieved a spectacular growth in the first 10 months of the year in China, where the automaker 45 percent more vehicles compared to last year. Next year, China auto market will grow by 10 percent, but the fourth largest automaker aims to grow at twice the market rate, as buyers in the world’s largest auto market snap up its affordable, quality and fuel-sipping cars.
Hyundai expects overall sales of Kia and Hyundai cars to grow by 25 percent in 2010 to reach nearly 1 million units! A joint venture between Hyundai and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp - Hyundai Bejing Motor reported its eyeing to sell 670.000 new cars next year, while Hyundai’s sister firm Kia Motors aims to sell 330.000 cars in China.
This is certainly an aggressive growth target, so to meet the demand for its vehicles, Hyundai will start building a $800 million production plant, which will increase its production capacity to 900.000 new vehicles. The plant is expected to be built by the end of 2011 and will be used to produce mid-sized cars such as Hyundai Sonata and Genesis sedan. Hyundai’s current two plants are have a capacity to produce 600.000 cars a year.
The most popular Hyundai car in China at the moment is a locally produced Elantra compact sedan, which is also the best selling car in the compact car segment. Chinese-built Elantra sedan is built on the same platform as US-market Elantra, but features many improvements including more attractive exterior design.
Hyundai Elantra was introduced to China consumers early this year and it has immediately became one of the hottest products on the market.
November 29th, 2009 at 2:45 am
That Elantra above looks ugly as hell. Though, it would be nice for the US model to get some of those technical improvements.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Hyundai seems smart to be paying so much attention to the chinese and indian markets. They also seem ideally placed, being an eastern-based supplier of low cost, high value cars targetted at young, aspirational buyers buying often their first cars. If anyone can adapt fast enough to meet the demands of the rapidly growing chinese market, it’s Hyundai.
On the subject of the Elantra I kinda wish Hyundai would unify their models worldwide. This Elantra being a US Elantra with elements of the European i30, and the US Elantra Touring being an i30 sw and so built on a completely different platform from the non-touring US Elantra. It’s a bit confused.
But I’m reminded why when I read comments like HyundaiSmoke’s above - the US and European markets have wildly different tastes. I think to European eyes this China model looks better than the US model (and the i30 looks better than either, though not perfect). Who knows what it looks like to the Chinese