Hyundai, Kia see 2016 sales lagging industry growth

“As we all can see, the Chinese market has been weaker than expected, which is the reason for missing our sales target“, he said.

Hyundai Motor expects 2016 sales to reach 5.01 million vehicles, after posting 2015 sales of 4.96 million vehicles -below its earlier target.

He said that while Hyundai/Kia managed to sell more than eight million cars for the second straight year in 2015 despite “challenging” market situations, the slowing growth in China and other emerging markets, low crude oil prices and economic instability does not bode well for the Korean automaker, the world’s fifth-largest.

The companies’ combined deliveries will rise to 8.13 million vehicles in 2016 from about 8 million vehicles a year earlier, Chung Mong Koo, chairman of both automakers, said during a New Year address to employees in Seoul on Monday.

United States and Japanese rivals have been regaining lost ground in the USA, while demand in emerging markets and the world’s biggest vehicle market – China – has been cooling.

The South Korean duo posted flat 2015 sales of 8.01 million vehicles, falling short of their 8.2 million target.

Kia plans to open its first Mexico factory in the first half of 2016, while Hyundai Motor is set to start production at its fourth China factory in the second half.

South Korea’s largest automakers, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia, have forecast their slowest sales growth in a decade for 2016, due to slumping demand in China and a strong Korean won.

The slow pace of growth at Hyundai is tied to a slowdown in China and other emerging markets.

Shares in Hyundai Motor ended down 3.4 percent, their lowest close in more than four months. Shares in Hyundai Motor were down 2.68 per cent and Kia shares slid 3 per cent in morning trade.

Shares in Hyundai Motor slumped 12 per cent past year, extending losses of 29 per cent in 2014.

The company plans to showcase the G90, the first vehicle under the new brand, at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.