SEOUL, KOREA - HyundaiMotor passed the 1-million mark in annual sales in China, first in 11 years since it made entry into the world's largest car market.Hyundai Motor's Chinese business unit Beijing Hyundai announced on December 25 that its January-December sales stood at 1.03 million (the December number is an estimate).
It was the first time for Beijing Hyundai to surpass 1 million units in annual sales. Since Hyundai Motor made entry into China, its cumulative sales there reached 5 million units.
The annual sales of Beijing Hyundai stood at mere 53,000 units in its first year of 2003 and, thereafter, marked a robust growth, rising to 570,000 in 2009,703,000 in 2010, and 855,000 in 2012.
In addition to Beijing Hyundai, there are only two joint brands which achieved annual sales of more than 1 million units in China. They include Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen. Considering that it took 20-27 years for them to reach the 1-million level in annual sales, Hyundai Motor achieved the mile stone far faster than them.