Hyundai, Kia see China sales steadily rebound from slump

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SEOUL, Nov. 30 Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. saw their sales in China steadily rebound from a months-long slump, as they strive to make up for early losses with deep price cuts and ramped-up marketing efforts, industry data showed Monday.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea's top two automakers, sold a combined 156,575 units in China last month, up 4.7 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The sales represented 8.9 percent of total market demand in October, up from the previous month's 8.4 percent. The October share ranked third following Volkswagen with 17.4 percent and General Motors with 12.3 percent, the data showed.

China is one of the major overseas markets where Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have been struggling in the face of stepped-up competition from homegrown players armed with cheaper product line-ups. In June, their market share dropped to as low as 7.2 percent.

In a bid to stem a prolonged sales slump, the two carmakers earlier announced deep price cuts for their major models in China.

Hyundai and Kia expect their fourth-quarter sales in China will show a "marked" rebound, given the recent signs of recovery. Their China sales figures for November are expected to be available early next month.

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