Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, said Thursday that its auto sales in China grew 7.6 percent in November, driven by brisk demand for its Avante compact model.

Hyundai Motor said that it sold a total of 99,045 vehicles in China last month, compared with 92,008 tallied during the same month a year earlier.

This marked the third straight month of sales increase, though the growth rate slowed from the previous month’s 15.5 percent gain. The hike is attributable to more sales of Landong MD, known as Avante MD in South Korea, which came to 23,324, up from the previous year’s 16,062.

The Landong MD had been Hyundai Motor’s best-selling model in China since August. The figures reflected the sales of vehicles produced in China, not those of cars exported from South Korea, Hyundai Motor said. During the January-November period, its cumulative car sales in China stood at 1,003,899 units, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Kia Motors Corp., its smaller affiliate, produced and sold 62,513 vehicles in China last month, up 17.9 percent from a year earlier. Its January-November sales also grew 16.1 percent on-year to 579,309 units, the company said. (Yonhap)