Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top carmaker, said Tuesday it received the Chinese government's approval to build two additional factories in the country.
   
The long-awaited approval will now allow Hyundai Motor to build a factory in the southwestern city of Chongqing as well as in Cangzhou, northeastern China, beginning next year, company officials said. 
   
The South Korean automaker had initially signed a preliminary agreement to build just one factory in Chongqing earlier this year, but Hyundai later tweaked its plans and proposed to build another plant in Cangzhou after the Chinese government requested Hyundai Motor to place its new facility closer to Beijing. 
   
The new factories will help raise Hyundai's overall production by a combined 600,000 vehicles per year. The carmaker currently has facilities in China that can produce up to 1.05 million commercial vehicles per year. 
   
Kia Motors Corp., also under the wings of the world's No. 5 automotive group Hyundai Motor Group, is also looking to increase its footprint in China by expanding its factories in Dongfeng Yueda to increase annual production in the region from the current 300,000 units to 450,000 units by 2016. 
   
Hyundai Motor's November sales in China grew 7.6 percent on-year in November, and sales figures for Kia in the world's second-largest economy also jumped 17.9 percent over the cited period. Combined sales by the two affiliates went up 10.5 percent on-year during the first 11 months of this year. (Yonhap)