Hyundai Motor Group has set its sales target for this year at 7 million, chairman Chung Mong-koo said Monday.

In a New Year’s message to his staff, Chung said the automotive group raised its 2012 sales target by 400,000 vehicles from its sales of 6.6 million units in 2011.

In a bid to achieve the 7 million target for Hyundai-Kia vehicles, he said, the group has to keep up with fast-changing global trends by setting up an organized cooperation system for better communication among production facilities and sales corporations worldwide.

He said Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. became the world’s top five car maker with combined sales of 6.6 million vehicles in 2011.

“Both have pulled off double-digit growth for three years in a row since 2009 but the rate is expected to sink to 6.1 percent this year.”

He stressed that growth of the car industry is forecast to slow down and competition will be fiercer this year.

“We have to establish a foothold as one of the global top companies with more solid management.”

The chairman also said that the automotive group’s globalization plan is on track to increase its presence in most of the world’s major automotive markets.

“The third plant by Beijing Hyundai Co. and an assembly line in Brazil will begin mass production later this year,” he said. “They will complete our global production network with 30 production facilities in nine countries.”

He also commented on the importance of research and development to satisfy demand of customers and the market.

He said the group will increase the number of experts and expand investment in developing environment-friendly technologies.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)