Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s leading automaker, said Monday that sales of its leading midsize sedan, YF Sonata, are expected to reach a record high in the United States this year on the back of its good performance and design.

In the first nine months of the year, a total of 175,436 YF Sonata sedans were sold in the U.S., up 0.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Hyundai Motor.

Hyundai Motor sold 225,961 YF Sonata sedans in 2011 following sales of 170,224 units in 2010.

“Demand for the YF Sonata is rising in the U.S.,” said a Hyundai Motor official. “Its annual sales may top the previous record this year.”

The steady rise in sales of the YF Sonata also helped boost Hyundai Motor’s share in the U.S. midsize sedan auto market with its stake rising to 11.9 percent last year from a mere 6.6 percent in 2006. (Yonhap News)