• Global sales rise 12% Y-o-Y to 269,958 units, Hyundai Motor’s biggest monthly sales
• Overseas sales rise 17% to 217,223, Korean domestic sales fall slightly 4.5% to 52,735 units
• Focus on small models paying off globally, exports rise

SEOUL, Korea, Nov. 3, 2008 - Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest automaker, posted its biggest global monthly sales, helped by higher demand for its fuel-efficient models.

Global sales rose 12 percent to 269,958 units in October, including overseas sales of 217, 223 units, highlighting Hyundai Motor’s continued dedication to overseas sales and manufacturing. Accumulated sales for the first ten months of the year were up 8.9 percent from a year earlier to 2,330,617 units.

The overseas sales figure included a 10 percent increase in exports and a 27 percent increase in vehicles produced at the company’s overseas plants. The figures for the two were 118,890 units and 98,333 units, respectively. Overall, overseas sales rose 17 percent from a year earlier. Exports rose for all models in October as the company diverted more shipments overseas, due to tight supplies resulting from the strikes.

In advanced markets such as United States, Western Europe, and other developed nations, exports of the small- to medium-sized i10, Accent, and Elantra models increased handsomely. Alternatively, the emerging markets such as the Middle East, Central America, Russia, and Africa experienced a broader increase in demand of models ranging from the small-sized Getz to the Tucson SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle).

Regarding the two important emerging markets of India and China, the news was even more impressive: The i10 saw a huge sales increase of 66 percent in the Indian domestic market, whereas in China sales of the Elantra Yuedong increased by 21 percent.

These figures emphasize Hyundai Motor’s sustained commitment to developing and exporting fuel-efficient small- to medium-sized cars around the globe, an approach which has been endorsed by consumers.

On a Y-o-Y basis, domestic sales fell slightly by 4.5 percent, to 52,735 units. Still, this was a 68 percent increase from a month earlier, boosted by sales of the company’s small passenger cars such as the Getz, Accent, and i30.

Shipments of knockdown assembly kits fell by 30 percent to 14,052 units, but on a cumulative basis were up 6.4 percent Y-o-Y, reaching 148,316 units.

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group which was ranked as the world’s fifth-largest automaker in 2007 and includes over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing over 75,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor posted sales of US$74.9 billion in 2007 on a consolidated-basis and US$32.8 billion on a non-consolidated basis (using the average currency exchange of 929 won per US dollar). Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms. Further information about Hyundai Motor Co. and its products is available at http://www.hyundai-motor.com

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