Hyundai sales in China slump once more

Hyundai Motor posted its ninth consecutive quarterly profit decline as deliveries in China, the South Korean automaker's largest overseas market, fell.Net income declined to 1.69 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in the three months through March, the Seoul-based automaker said Tuesday.

The company posted an operating profit of 1.34 trillion won, compared with the 1.42 trillion won average of analysts’ estimates. Deliveries of Hyundai in China, its biggest overseas market, fell 18 per cent overshadowing an increase in sales at home, the US and India. The automaker in January had said it will cut costs at its plants in China and step up output of smaller cars and SUVs to take advantage of a tax cut in October.

At this week’s Beijing motor show, Hyundai is showing models including its new ix35 SUV and China-specific version of its Elantra sedan.The automaker’s sales at home, its most profitable market, rose 3.6 per cent to 160,862 units boosted by demand for its Tucson sport utility vehicle and Avante sedan. Sales in the US increased 6.1 per cent to 94,035 vehicles and in India climbed 2.2 percent to 145,263 units. Deliveries in China declined to 229,011 units, according to data on the company’s website. Sales in Russia slumped 20 per cent and in Brazil fell 21 per cent.

Bloomberg