South Korean automakers are expected to post better earnings in the third quarter as the weaker local currency boosted their price competitiveness in the global market, analysts said Sunday.

A survey of 23 securities companies showed their consensus estimate of top automaker Hyundai Motor's operating profit coming to 1.57 trillion won ($ 1.32 billion) as of Friday, up 1.9 percent from a month earlier, according to market researcher FnGuide.

The consensus for Kia Motor, its sister company, rose 2.19 percent to 593.1 billion won for the July-September period, it said.

Analysts cited the Korean won's depreciation against the U.S. dollar during the period for helping boost their operating profit.

"Their release of new cars while the won slid against the greenback helped enhance their price competitiveness in the global market," Cho Su-hong, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said.

Some expected Korean automakers could reap short-term benefits from the scandal over Volkswagen's cheating on pollution emissions tests by luring potential buyers away from the German rival.

"Korean automakers are expected to benefit from the weaker won and Volkswagen scandal in the fourth quarter," said Lee Myung-hoon, an analyst at HMC Securities.

Such a positive outlook has already been reflected in their share prices in the Seoul bourse.

Shares of Hyundai Motor closed at 167,000 won on Friday, gaining 35.2 percent from July 17. Its rank in the KOSPI market moved up from fourth place to second. Kia Motors also jumped 33.2 percent to 53,700 won during the same period. (Yonhap)