SEOUL- Hyundai Motor Group retained its
global ranking as the seventh highest car maker in
terms of auto output and sales in 2003, the latest
industry figures showed on Thursday.
US
industry magazine Automotive News said the combined
sales and output of Hyundai Motor Co and its affiliate
Kia Motors Corp totaled 3,046,333 units and 3,085,836
units, respectively, last year.
The
world's top-five
auto makers, measured by the same yardsticks,
were General Motors, Toyota Motor, Ford Motor,
Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler. PSA Group, a French
group comprising Peugeot and Citroen, ranked sixth with
sales of 3.29 million vehicles and an output of 3.31
million vehicles.
Notably, Hyundai Motor Group beat
both Japanese car makers Nissan Motor and Honda
Motor in the 2003 global ranking. Hyundai Motor Group
topped Nissan by 77,976 units in sales, while the output
gap between Hyundai Motor Group and Honda stood at
117,520 units.
Japanese industry experts had
previously forecast Hyundai Motor and Kia would fall
behind Honda and Nissan in the 2003 ranking, due to a
protracted slump in the South Korean market.
In
2004, Hyundai Motor and Kia aim for combined sales of
3.47 million vehicles, compared with Honda's target of
3.2 million units.
The South Korean auto group
aims for a spot in the global top five by
2010.
(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)
May 21, 2004
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