Hyundai Motor Co. February sales jump 23.4 percent

• Source: Xinhua
• [15:46 March 03 2010]
• Comments

South Korea's leading automaker, Hyundai Motor Co., saw its February sales jump 23.4 percent compared to a year earlier, posting a worldwide sales of 250,995 units in the month, the company said Wednesday.

"We expect drastic changes in the global market outlook as well as stiffer competition from other companies following an economic downturn around the world," the company said in a statement, vowing to increase its efforts to become a global leader in the auto-industry.

Hyundai's domestic sales grew 9.2 percent last month, amounting to 48,981 units, fueled by stronger sales in new releases of its Sonata and Tuscan models, the company said, while its overseas sales jumped 27.3 percent in the cited period to reach 202,014 units sold, largely due to boosts in production from its overseas plants in China and India as well as the Czech Republic.

However, monthly sales have dropped compared to the previous month both in the local and foreign markets by 18.1 percent and 8 percent respectively, mainly because of the shorter month that included the Lunar New Year holidays, according to Hyundai.

Meanwhile, Hyundai's overall sales have grown by 36.4 percent so far in the months of January and February compared to the same period of last year, as the company is targeting to sell 3.46 million units by year's end.