Hyundai, Kia see weak sales growth in 2016 (updated)

Shinil Electronics Co

03/01/2016 23:43

* Automaker targets 2016 sales of 8.13 mln vehicles, up 1.5 
pct 
    * Sales flat at 8.01 mln vehicles in 2015 - group chief 
 
    SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor  005380.KS  and 
affiliate Kia Motors  000270.KS  forecast their global sales 
would rise 1.5 percent to 8.13 million vehicles in 2016, after 
missing their annual target for the first time since the global 
financial crisis in 2015. 
    Hyundai and Kia on Monday posted flat 2015 sales of 8.01 
million vehicles compared with a target of 8.2 million vehicles, 
Chung Mong-koo, chief of the family-run conglomerate, said in a 
speech to employees.   
    The South Korean automakers, together the world's 
fifth-largest automaker by sales, are expected to see sales 
bounce back thanks to tax cuts on small cars, but demand in 
other emerging markets will remain depressed, analysts said. 
They are also bracing for a weaker recovery in such markets as 
South Korea, the United States and Europe.  
    The duo has been struggling in recent years, with Japanese 
and U.S. rivals making a comeback in the United States, while 
demand is slowing in China and other emerging markets.  
    Plummeting currencies in Russia and Brazil have eroded 
repatriated earnings for South Korean automakers just as 
Japanese rivals have benefited from a weaker yen. 
    Hyundai Motor is targeting 2016 global sales of 5.01 million 
vehicles, while Kia Motors sets its 2016 sales goal at 3.12 
million vehicles. They did not immediately announce their 2015 
sales results. 
    Shares in Hyundai Motor slumped 12 percent last year, 
extending losses of 29 percent in 2014. 
    Hyundai Motor was the second-worst performing stock after 
Volkswagen AG  VOWG_p.DE  among major global automakers last 
year. Kia Motors shares gained 1 percent last year, lagging the 
wider market's  .KS11  2 percent gain. 
 
 (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Stephen Coates) 
 ((hyunjoo.jin@thomsonreuters.com; 82-2-3704-5685; Reuters 
Messaging: hyunjoo.jin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: HYUNDAI MOTOR OUTLOOK/