Hyundai ranks 1st in Chilean car market

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor's has emerged as the best-selling car brand in Chile, outpacing Chevrolet, local data showed Sunday.

Hyundai sold a total of 31,398 automobiles last year, more than the 28,886 recorded by the U.S. carmaker, according to the data from Chile's auto association ANAC.

Hyundai's sales marked a 22.2 percent surge from the 25,700 posted in 2015.

The performance was spurred by the local debut of new models, such as the Creta, the i20 Active and the Ioniq Hybrid, on top of the popularity of existing small vehicles, including the Accent and Grand i10 sedans.

Hyundai's smaller affiliate, Kia Motors, sold 28,864 cars in the Latin American nation, ranking third, in 2016.

South Korea and Chile inked a bilateral free trade agreement that went into effect in 2004.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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