Industry

Hyundai’s Sonata sales top 100,000 in Chinese market

Hyundai Motor, Korea’s leading automaker, said yesterday that sales of its midsize sedan YF Sonata exceeded 100,000 units in China last year, buoyed by improved brand awareness and product quality.

The automaker said it sold a total of 100,454 YF Sonata sedans in China last year, 39.4 percent more from a year earlier. In December alone, its monthly sales of the midsize sedan hit a record 11,910 units.

Hyundai Motor began selling the YF Sonata in April 2011 and moved about 72,000 units that year.

The company expects increased sales of the model to help boost its profitability in China.

The Korean automaker sold a total of 855,995 units in China last year, a 15.7 percent increase from the previous year. Kia Motors posted a 11.1 percent rise in its Chinese sales to reach 480,566 units last year.