O-STA

Hyundai Motor Europe January Sales Up 24%

l European January sales up 24 pct y-o-y to 23,835 units

l Global exports up 5.3 pct y-o-y to 100,809 units

(Rüsselsheim, Germany) Hyundai Motor Europe (HME) continues its strong momentum on the European market and closed January with sales of 23,835 units, showing a year on year increase of 24 percent and making it the most successful January in HME's sales history.

Bestseller in Hyundai's model range continues to be the Getz with 7,000 units sold. For the year ahead, sales prospects are likely to increase even further as the new 1.5 litre Getz diesel hits the European show rooms in January 2004.

Contributing to the most successful January for Hyundai Motor Europe, have also been the SUVs (Santa Fe and Terracan with cumulative sales of over 5,000 units) as well as the Matrix in the MPV segment reaching 2,700 units for the month.

For the year ahead, the sales target for Hyundai Motor Europe has been raised to 330,000 units (2,150,000 units globally), which puts Hyundai firmly on track to move from its current 7th rank to be among the top 5 car makers globally by 2010.

During the last calendar year, Hyundai Motor Europe made a plus of 8 percent in a slightly weaker industry and sold more than 266,000 cars, giving the company a market share of 1.8 percent in Europe. Globally, Hyundai sold 1,964,835 units, with a year-on-year growth rate of 5.3 percent; turnover rose to a record of 18.4 billion Euro.

The result has been achieved thanks to a strong line-up in the SUV and MPV segment as well as - and above all - the Hyundai Getz. The Getz had a share of almost 30 percent on Hyundai Motor Europe's overall sales in 2003.

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai Automotive Group which includes Kia Motors Corp. and over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing nearly 50,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor posted US$21.94 billion in sales in 2002. Hyundai motor vehicles are sold in 190 countries through 4,504 dealerships and showrooms.