Hyundai Motor Group, the world's No. 5 automaker, said Sunday its mid-sized models took up more than 20 percent of its combined sales in China through October this year.

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. shipped 263,610 mid-sized cars to China over the January-October period, taking up 20.5 percent of the combined sales of 1.28 million units.

The mid-sized models accounted for only 8.5 percent of Hyundai Motor's Chinese sales in 2008, but the number gradually increased to 15.3 percent in 2011 and 17.8 percent in 2014.

While the mid-sized models took up 2.9 percent of Kia's Chinese sales in 2008, the figure is estimated to reach 16.5 percent this year, the data added.

"If Hyundai Motor Group has been focusing on expanding sales in China in terms of quantity, we are now planning for the second leap by beefing up profitability and bolstering sales of mid-sized models," a group official said.

Kia, meanwhile, plans to release its new Sportage SUV in China next year, a move that is expected to lend further support in improving profitability. (Yonhap)