SEOUL – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said on Thursday it was aiming to raise its U.S. auto sales by 18.2 percent this year to 1.06 million vehicles, up from its previous target of 1.01 million.

The announcement was made during a visit to the United States by Chung Mong-koo, chairman of the world’s fifth-biggest automotive group which includes Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, reported Reuters.

Hyundai Motor is targeting sales of 624,000 vehicles in the United States this year and Kia Motors 433,000, the statement said. They sold a combined 894,496 cars in the United States last year.

Hyundai and Kia are among the fastest-growing automakers in the U.S. market, with their combined share reaching 10.1 percent as of May this year from 7.7 percent last year and 3.3 percent in 2001.

They plan to launch the new Veloster utility coupe and Rio subcompact in the United States to maintain their sales momentum.

South Korean media speculated Chung’s visit may be linked to Hyundai Motor’s possible construction of a second plant to meet booming demand in the world’s second-biggest auto market. The company, which currently runs a plant in Alabama producing the Sonata sedan and Elantra compact, has denied plans for a second U.S. factory.

Chung met the governors of Alabama and Georgia and visited Hyundai and Kia facilities in the United States, Hyundai Motor said in a statement. Kia’s U.S. plant is located in Georgia and manufactures the Sorento SUV and Hyundai’s Santa Fe SUV.

Shares in Hyundai and Kia were up 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent respectively as of 0151 GMT, in a nearly flat market .

CHICAGO – Resource Automotive Inc. announced that its “Fix It Right the First Time” (FRFT) program has been extended into 2011 by Kia Motors America (KMA), because of its successful implementation of the program with 100 participating dealers in 2010. Since the program was launched five months ago, 73 percent of participating dealers have seen improvement.

Addressing the most important consumer service concern – fixing it right the first time, the program conducts comprehensive assessments of dealership processes utilizing onsite Resource Automotive Specialists. Improvement opportunities are identified to enable enhancement of the entire customer service experience. Solutions are developed in collaboration with Kia District Parts and Service Managers and dealership management and employees, with the goal of 100 percent customer satisfaction – the first time, reported F&I and Showroom.

“Resource Automotive is proud to play a part in Kia’s success in improving FRFT. The benefits that can be realized through FRFT improvements are often overlooked. The epiphany experienced by dealership personnel as a result of the assessments is eclipsed only by our specialists’ ability to take advantage of it. All levels of the organization have contributed to the program’s success. Oftentimes, that’s what it takes,” said Randy Schwantes, national vice president for Resource Automotive.

“As part of Kia’s enterprise quality focus, FRFT is critical to our dealers’ ability to deliver the best customer experience in the business. With the support of Resource Automotive, our dealers, and Kia field personnel, we expect our dealerships to continue to improve and maintain the quality processes they are implementing,” said Scott Slade, manager of Owner Satisfaction for KMA.

The “Fix It Right the First Time” program is part of Resource’s overall dealership strategy to help Kia leverage the value of every customer touch point to enhance customer retention, acquisition and loyalty. Resource Automotive, established in 1964, has relationships with over 3,100 clients in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.

Kia Motors America said it is recalling about 35,000 2010-11 Souls and Sorentos because faulty wiring harnesses could short and cause a fire, reported Automotive News.

The recall affects about 23,972 2010 Soul compact crossovers equipped with a special lighting system that includes illuminated front speakers in the interior door panel. About 11,213 2011 Sorento crossovers equipped with a similar feature in the “Limited” options package also are affected.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received four complaints of fires in the interior door panels of the 2010 Kia Soul while the vehicle was being driven. No crashes were reported.

Kia said it was not aware of any accidents or injuries that have resulted from the problem, and owners of vehicles with the illuminated speaker option can turn off the feature to prevent damage before taking the vehicles to dealers for repairs.

According to a Kia, a limited number of wiring harnesses supplied by Johnson Controls Inc. may have been soldered improperly. The harness could short out in certain conditions, possibly causing a fire, the statement said. Kia did not detail the type of conditions that could lead to a short.