Hyundai Motor and South Korea's Kia Corp subsidiary have forecast that their combined worldwide sales will increase by 12.1% in 2022, even as 2021 sales fell short of target due to a widespread chip shortage.

In the past, the companies sold 6.67 million vehicles, about -3.7% than their combined target of selling 6.92 million vehicles, largely due to supply problems, including chip shortages, which led to a drop in vehicle shipments.

For this year the companies expect combined sales to reach 7.47 million vehicles.

A statement from Hyundai Motor said the company intends to expand market share as well as boost profitability through efforts to stabilize supply and demand for .... chips and optimize sales profits and losses by region.

The shortages, due to supply problems and an increased demand for consumer electrical appliances during the pandemic, have hit the automotive industry hard, with millions of vehicles around the world not being produced because important parts were and still are missing.

In October, Hyundai Motor lowered its 2021 global sales target by about 4% from 4.16 million to four million vehicles.