HONG KON  -- Hyundai Motor Co. expects to sell 850,000 vehicles in China this year on the back of Chinese consumers' steady demand, company officials said Friday.

   Baek Hyo-heum, head of Hyundai Motor's China business and CEO of Chinese joint venture Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., said the South Korean automaker will likely sell some 60,000 units more than its original target of 790,000 for 2012 in China, according to the Hyundai Motor officials.

   The remark was made during Baek's visit to an international motor show held in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou this week.

   Hyundai Motor will aim to sell around 1 million units next year, he also said.

   Its flagship Sonata sedan has recently been named the best quality new car in its segment in a Chinese quality survey.

   In the 2012 China Initial Quality Study (IQS) by U.S.-based marketing firm J.D. Power and Associates, Hyundai's YF Sonata sedan received 66 problems per 100 cars in the upper premium mid-size segment, outperforming Honda Motor Co.'s Accord, which garnered 81 problems, according to the companies.

   The IQS indicates the average number of problems reported per 100 vehicles from a sample size of 20,000 consumers who bought new cars from October 2011 to June 2012.

   The EF Sonata topped the lower premium mid-size segment with 82 complaints, beating the Chevrolet Epica with 122 and the Peugeot

408 with 165.

   At the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition that runs from Thursday to Dec. 2, Hyundai Motor showcased a number of new cars and popular models.

   The new Santa Fe, its sports utility vehicle (SUV), was premiered there, exclusively geared to Chinese drivers.

   Hyundai said the new SUV will hit Chinese showrooms next year.

   The South Korean carmaker also displayed a hydrogen fuel cell version of its popular Tucson ix SUV at the Guangzhou motor show, along with its other environment-friendly models including the Sonata hybrid sedan and the Blueon, a five-door hatchback electric car.

   The CEO of Beijing Hyundai estimated that China's passenger car market sales will fall short of 13 million units this year and reach less than 14 million units next year.

   In 2011, the word's largest auto market saw its total passenger car sales reached 14.5 million units. (Yonhap News)