[THE INVESTOR] After months of sluggish sales in China, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors have seen a turnaround in car sales in the all-important market in June.

According to industry data on July 12, Hyundai sold a combined 523,000 vehicles in the first half of this year, up 2.5 percent from the same period last year.

The carmaker suffered slowing sales in recent months but its car sales soared a whopping 61.6 percent in June alone by launching new models in the month. 


In the meantime, Kia suffered a 5.8 percent decrease in sales, selling 285,590 vehicles in the first six months of this year. But the company posted a 20 percent growth in sales, hinting at a new vigor in its stagnant sales.

Kia aims to continue the recent sales momentum with new launches, such as the K4 and K7, in the latter half of the year.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldorp.com)