Despite the global economic crisis, Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia have seen a rapid rise in global sales, thanks in part to their value for money offerings but also a new range of models.
As a result of the new sales records and increased demand, the two carmakers that currently form the world’s fifth largest automotive group, increased the shifts in some of their plants and reevaluated their 2011 overall target to 6.6 million, up from 6.33 million units in the beginning of the year.
The president of Hyundai Motors, Chung Jin-haeng, told Reuters that he has set an even bigger target for 2012: “We aim to sell about 7 million vehicles next year. We expect to reach the target if we run our factories at full capacity.”
He did add though that the target has not yet been finalized and he declined to clarify each carmaker’s sales target separately. Several analysts including Korea Investment & Securities’ Suh Sung-moon think that Jin-haeng is being rather conservative in his estimates.
“I expect Hyundai and Kia will be able to achieve sales of 7.2 million vehicles next year, with Hyundai’s China plant starting production and Kia introducing a third shift at its Slovakia plant”, said Suh Sung-moon.
