Hyundai overtakes Ford in global sales

The Hyundai Automotive Group has displaced American carmaker Ford Motor Co. as the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. Not bad for a company that, just ten years ago, was ranked at a lowly 11th.

A total of 2,153,000 Hyundai units were sold in the first half of 2009, 8,000 more than that sold by Ford, data from the Automotive News showed. In July, Hyundai's global sales surged 36.3 percent.

The Korean carmaker attributed its growth to the brisk sales in China, India and the Czech Republic.

In the Philippines, Hyundai is also the fourth largest car seller next to Japanese brands Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines, Inc. showed that Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc., the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the country, has sold 5,789 units since the start of the year. This represents 8.2 percent of the local automotive market.