Hyundai, Kia's auto sales in China hit 2nd largest in November

SEOUL - South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors recorded their second largest monthly sales in China, the world's largest auto market, last month, the company said Wednesday.

The top two South Korean carmakers posted a combined sale of 156,575 units in November, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

It marked the biggest monthly figure in their history, except for a sale of 182,876 vehicles tallied in December last year.

Kia saw its November car sales in China surpass the 70,000 mark for the first time since the company entered the Chinese market in 2002. Hyundai sold more than 100,000 cars for two straight months through November.

For the first 10 months of this year, combined sales of Hyundai and Kia declined 7.5 percent compared with the same period of last year, but the November sales showed a positive picture due to the popularity of new models like Hyundai's ix25 and Kia's K2.

Hyundai's car sales in China increased 11.2 percent from a year earlier to 110,094 units in November, keeping an upward trend for four straight months.

Auto sales by Kia in China advanced 12.1 percent to 70,065 units last month, topping the 70,000 mark for the first time.