Hyundai and Kia Forecast Slowest Sales Gain in Nine Years

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s largest automakers, forecast their weakest sales growth in nine years as they run out of capacity to increase output and competition intensifies in major markets.

The companies’ combined deliveries will rise 2.5 percent to 8.2 million vehicles in 2015, Chung Mong Koo, chairman of both automakers, said during a New Year address to employees in Seoul today. That would be the slowest growth since 2006. The forecast was in line with the median estimate of 8.2 million units in a Bloomberg News survey of five analysts.