Hyundai, Kia to see their Chinese market share top 10 pct this year

SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are expected to see their combined market share in China top 10 percent this year on the back of rising demand for their new models, industry data showed Monday.
Hyundai Motor, South Korea's leading automaker, took up 6.9 percent of the Chinese automotive market in August and Kia Motors' share stood at 3.9 percent last month, according to the data.
Hyundai Motor sold a total of 63,036 units in China last month, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier and a 21.2-percent rise from the previous month.
Kia Motors also posted a 40-percent increase in its August sales in China to reach 35,008 units last month. The August figure is also up 9.4 percent from July.
Hyundai Motor sold a total of 478,525 units in China in the first eight months of the year, up 9.4 percent from a year earlier, and Kia Motors saw its sales jump 23.7 percent to 257,166 units over the cited period, the data showed.
Hyundai's market share in China stood at 9.7 percent through August this year, and Kia's came in at 3.4 percent.
The rise in the two automakers' market shares is attributed to hefty sales of their new models such as the Verna and the Sonata sedans.
"We are able to see our share (in China) top 10 percent this year if the current pace will last," said an official at Hyundai Motor.
Volkswagen was the market leader in China with a share of 18.6 percent, followed by GM with a market share of 11.2 percent.