Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., saw their combined sales in China shrink 11 percent on-year in September, underscoring their prolonged setback in the world's largest auto market in the face of fierce competition from local and global rivals, industry data showed Sunday.

The two South Korean auto giants sold a combined 135,608 units in China last month, compared with 152,265 units a year earlier, according to the data obtained by the English division of Yonhap News Agency.

Hyundai Motor sold 90,108 cars last month, down 5.4 percent from a year earlier, while Kia Motors saw its sales there dip 20.2 percent over the cited period to 45,500 units, the data showed.

The auto duo's September sales in China underlined their protracted challenge in China, although the extent of the downward trend seems to be easing due mostly to their massive promotions, which might have led to a drop in profit margin. In August, their combined sales in China shrank 26.6 percent on-year.

"In September, Hyundai and Kia performed relatively better than the previous few months as indicated by the sales figures," a market expert said on customary condition of anonymity.

"It seems that Hyundai Motor's recent price cuts for major car models along with the launch of new vehicles have been paying off to some extent. The reason for Kia Motors' still-slumping sales in China could be attributed in part to its slower response than Hyundai," he added.

China, along with the United States, is a major overseas market for Hyundai and Kia, whose business depends heavily on exports. The latest official data showed that the two carmakers saw their combined sales jump 17.8 percent on-year in September in the U.S.

A sales slump in China could weigh on Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors as more than 20 percent of their overseas sales are from that market.

Concerns are being raised that the two automakers will not be able to achieve their annual sales target of 8.2 million units -- a 2.4 percent rise from last year -- as they face growing challenges in major overseas markets.

Yonhap earlier reported that Hyundai and Kia "internally" lowered the sales target by around 10 percent, which the two denied immediately.

During the first nine months of this year, Hyundai and Kia said that they had sold a cumulative 5.73 million units at home and abroad, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)