Hyundai, Kia see jump in China sales of mid-size cars

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. recorded a surge in sales of mid-size cars in China this year, raising hopes for improved profitability, industry sources said Sunday.
Hyundai and Kia, the flagships of Hyundai Motor Group, sold a combined 66,377 units of the Sonata and the K5 in China in the January-July period, close to last year's full-year shipments of 67,904 vehicles, according to the sources.
In the seven-month period, Hyundai sold 49,590 units of its Sonata sedan in the fast growing market, while Kia's sales reached 16,787, nearly four times the number recorded during the same period last year.
Hyundai's mid-size cars came to 11.9 percent of all its sales in China as of the end of July, compared with 9.2 percent for all of 2010.
Kia's percentage also surged to 7.6 percent as of end-July, compared with a mere 1 percent last year, according to the sources.
The rise in sales of larger-margin mid-size cars is likely to help raise the profitability of the carmakers, the sources said.