Hyundai Motor achieved record sales, operating profit and net profit last year. The carmaker on Thursday said its consolidated 2011 sales totaled W77.8 trillion (US$1=W1,122), operating profit W8.8 trillion and net profit W8.1 trillion.

Overseas sales of new vehicles increased 14 percent, while increased prices of Hyundai's latest models also helped boost sales 16.1 percent compared to 2010.

Operating profit rose 36.4 percent over the same period thanks to increased sales of more profitable sedans. For example, the sales of Hyundai's compact passenger cars in China fell from 74 percent in 2010 to 64 percent last year, but the sales proportion of mid-sized sedans in the country rose from 9.2 percent in 2010 to 15.3 percent. Sales of SUVs, which are more expensive than ordinary passenger cars, also rose from 17 percent in 2010 to 21 percent last year, boosting profitability.

In the fourth quarter, when analysts expected a steep decline in demand due to the global economic slump, Hyundai sold around 1.11 million vehicles, setting a quarterly record. Its total vehicles sales last year, for cars sold both in the domestic and overseas markets, amounted to 4.05 million units, up 12.4 percent from 2010.

Hyundai projected global demand for automobiles to rise only 3.6 percent this year but has set U.S. sales at 675,000 vehicles, up 4.5 percent from last year, while aiming to sell 465,000 cars in Europe, up 15.4 percent. It aims to sell 790,000 cars in China this year, up 6.8 percent.