Korea’s top automaker, Hyundai Motor is enjoying a sharp rise in sales of midsize autos in China, which could lead to a rise in its profitability, industry sources said Sunday.

According to the sources, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 135,386 midsize sedans such as the YF Sonata in China last year, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier.

The YF Sonata, which was introduced in China in 2011, led the overall growth last year with a total of 104,670 units sold in the world’s biggest auto market.

In particular, the carmaker’s newly released sedan, the Mistra, is showing signs of becoming the South Korean automaker’s next best-selling product in the neighboring country.

Hyundai has sold 16,762 Mistras in China since its market debut in November last year. In December alone, the automaker sold 10,502 units, the source said.

Hyundai Motor unveiled the Mistra, exclusively tailored for China, expecting to sell 100,000 of them this year as it seeks to tap China’s growing middle class. (Yonhap News)