HONG KONG, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Wednesday its sales in China surged more than 40 percent in August as its new vehicles attracted young customers in the world's No. 1 automobile market.

Kia Motors said it sold 37,748 units in August, up 40.9 percent from a year earlier and 18 percent from the previous month.

In the January-August period, Kia Motors sold 275,607 units of vehicles in China, up 24.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The sales jump was attributed to growing demand in China and marketing activities to attract the country's young consumers, who show increasing interest in Kia's new models, including sport utility vehicles.

Kia Motors said the company aims to sell 430,000 units this year. The carmaker's sales in China reached more than 300,000 units for all of 2010, compared to shipments of 241,300 units a year earlier.

Kia has been steadily expanding its presence in China, rising from being the 16th-largest automobile seller in China in 2008 to 13th place in 2009 and in 2010.

Its larger affiliate Hyundai Motor and Kia have been aggressively pushing into China as the country has become the world's largest automobile market since 2009.

Hyundai Motor Group, which includes both Hyundai and Kia, said earlier it is seeking to sell 1.15 million vehicles in China this