Hyundai, Kia take combined 8.8% share in global automobile market in 2013

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors took a combined 8.8-percent share in the global automobile market last year, similar to the level of the previous year, a U.S. market researcher said Friday.

According to JD Power, the two carmakers sold 7,367,000 million vehicles worldwide in 2013.

Sales of Hyundai and Kia reached 4,621,000 units, or 5.5 percent of the global market, and 2,746,000 cars, or 3.3 percent, respectively.

The 8.8 percent market share recorded in 2012 and 2013 is up from 8.6 percent in 2011. The comparable figure stood at 8.1 percent in 2010, 7.8 percent in 2009 and 6.4 percent in 2008.

Hyundai and Kia are expected get a bigger slice of the pie in the coming days as they are expanding their operation in China, the world’s largest automobile market by sales.

Operation of Kia’s production plant in Yancheung, Jiangsu Province, its third facility in China. began early this year. In addition, Hyundai plans to build a new plant in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, its fourth factory in China.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com