Hyundai Motor targets almost 10 pct rise in auto sales in 2007

Posted 02 January 2007 @ 10:23 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

SEOUL (AP) - South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor has announced it aims to sell almost 10 percent more vehicles in 2007 than last year as it raises production overseas, including in the United States and China.

The company missed its sales target of 2.69 million vehicles last year due to strikes and the South Korean won's gain against the dollar, which makes exports more expensive.

It said in a regulatory filing it is targeting sales of 2.73 million vehicles at home and abroad in 2007 compared with 2.5 million in 2006, an increase of 9.4 percent.

Hyundai Motor must sustain stable profitability by raising its brand awareness among global customers, chairman Chung Mong-Koo told employees in his New Year's message.

The revenue target is 42 trillion won (45 billion dollars), 13.5 percent higher than an estimated 37 trillion won in 2006. Hyundai Motor, along with its affiliate Kia Motors, ranks seventh among the world's automakers and aims to become one of the top five by 2010 but labour disputes and the 69-year-old chairman's management style have been cited by some analysts as obstacles.

Early last year, Chung was arrested on charges of raising slush funds and bribing government officials to secure business favours. He was released on bail and is now on trial. "While Hyundai Motor underwent its worst-ever year in 2006, risks remain this year," Woori Investment and Securities analyst Ahn Soo-Woong said in a research note quoted by Yonhap news agency.

The analyst cited labour disputes, the won's strength and the slush fund scandal. In a separate filing, Kia Motors said it targets sales of 1.54 million vehicles this year, up 22.1 percent, to produce revenue of 22 trillion won compared with an estimated 19 trillion won in 2006. The two automakers said that this year they will increase production in the United States, Europe, India and China but gave no details.