Hyundai and Kia forecasting slowest sales growth in 10 years

Seoul

HYUNDAI Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp, South Korea's largest carmakers, are forecasting their weakest sales increase in a decade as a slump in demand in China and a stronger won cut their profit.

The companies' combined deliveries will rise to 8.13 million vehicles in 2016 from about eight million vehicles a year earlier, Chung Mong Koo, chairman of both carmakers, said during a New Year address to employees in Seoul on Monday. That would be the slowest growth since 2006 and compares with the average estimate of 8.12 million units in a Bloomberg News survey of five analysts.