Hyundai, Kia trim 2008 sales target by 12.5 pct as demand plunges

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp.,
South Korea's top two automakers, said Monday they cut combined sales target this
year by 12.5 percent as a global economic downturn significantly weakened demand
for new vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia aim to sell 4.2 million vehicles worldwide this year, down from
an earlier target of 4.8 million units, the two companies said in a joint
statement, without saying separate sales goals for the two carmakers.
In the first 11 months of this year, Hyundai sold 2.56 million vehicles, while
Kia sold 1.28 million vehicles, the two firms said early this month.
In the statement, Hyundai and Kia said they will expand an "emergency management
system" to all plants at home and overseas to ride out the industry crisis.
Since early this month, Hyundai and Kia have cut daily work hours by an average
of four hours and adjusted production volumes to control rising inventories,
according to the statement.
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