LEAD) Hyundai Motor will focus on Europe to weather market turmoil

(ATTN: ADDS Hyundai Motor aims to sell 135,000 units of the i20 car in Europe next year in paras 5-6; TRIMS some previous materials; EDITS lead para)

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, will rev up sales of small cars in Europe to distance itself from the fallout of the U.S.-sparked global financial turmoil, its top executive said Thursday.

"In the wake of the global financial crisis, the global auto market is recently
undergoing a sharp contraction," Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo told
reporters upon arrival in Seoul after a visit to Russia.
"Hyundai Motor aims to improve its profitability by increasing sales of the i30
and C'eed cars in Europe," said Chung, referring to the company's compact models.

The comment came a day after Hyundai, South Korea's top carmaker, reported a
sharp drop in its sales in the United States last month, heightening market
speculation that it may miss this year's sales target in the world's largest auto
market.
Later in the day, Hyundai said in a statement that it plans to sell 135,000 units
of the fuel-efficient i20 model in Europe next year. Globally, Hyundai aims to
sell 165,000 units of the i20 in 2009.
Hyundai recently showed off the Indian-built i20 at an auto industry fair in Paris.
In September, Hyundai sold 24,765 vehicles in the U.S., down 25.4 percent from a
year earlier, marking the third straight monthly decline.
In the first nine months of this year, Hyundai sales in the U.S. sunk six percent
from a year ago to 337,664 units. Despite the decline, Hyundai said its U.S.
sales target of 515,000 units for this year is attainable.
Hyundai, like its global competitors, faces cooling demand in the U.S. market as
American consumers are pinched by falling home prices and a reduced availability
of credit.