Hyundai posts record Middle East sales in 2011

Hyundai Motor Company has announced best ever sales figures for the Middle East region in 2011. The Korean company posted a nine percent increase in total sales in comparison to 2010, selling a total of 283,953 vehicles. Among the GCC and Levant countries, the growth was led by Qatar, which reported sales up by 93 percent, the company said in a statement. They were followed by Kuwait with 76 percent growth and Lebanon, which registered a 35 percent rise in sales. The UAE saw sales leap by 29 percent, it added. There was also significant growth in Saudi Arabia, the company's single biggest market in the region, which saw sales rise by 18 percent to more than 106,000 units. Bahrain and Yemen also registered increased sales, while Syria, Jordan and Oman remained Hyundai's biggest volume markets after Saudi Arabia. Tom Lee, head of Hyundai Middle East's regional headquarters, said: "Across the GCC and Levant countries, customers have shown their confidence in our new range of modern premium cars in growing numbers."