Hyundai Motor seeks to boost sales in key regions

SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Co hopes to bring annual sales in each of its key markets to the 1 million mark by 2011, a senior executive said.

Yang Seung-suk, Hyundai's president of sales, also said to the best of his knowledge the company was not seeking to acquire other auto brands, according to a statement from Hyundai Motor provided on Friday. "We hope that unit sales in some regions will hit 1 million annually.

That may be possible in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and they are competing to meet the target in the next three years," Yang said on Wednesday. Last year, Hyundai sold 645,357 cars in Asia-Pacific, 654,252 vehicles in the Americas and 475,971 units in Europe, according to the company.

Hyundai has been helped by a weaker won currency and growing appetite for smaller cars while other car makers struggle with a global economic downturn. Shares in Hyundai rose 0.78 percent to 64,500 won as of 0352 GMT, compared with a 1.28 percent gain in the wider market.