Hyundai Motor this week moved to strengthen the management of its Chinese operations to help revive its sales in the world’s largest vehicle market.

The South Korean automaker said it has appointed Lee Kwang-guk as president of Hyundai Motor Group (China) Ltd with immediate effect, reportingdirectly to Hyundai Motor Group executive vice-chairman Chung Euisun. He was previously head of Hyundai’s domestic sales division. The outgoing head of China operations, Byung Ho Lee, will serve as an advisor to the group.

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In a statement Hyundai said Lee Kwang-gukis expected to “enhance Hyundai’s agility and competitiveness in the Chinese market – which has become the biggest battleground for the global automotive industry. He will oversee the group’s business in China to enhance its business competitiveness and brand value. He will also devise business strategies and establish mid- to long-term visions for this important market”.

The company has also appointed Sven Mirko Patuschka, formerly the head of R&D at Volkswagen‘s Chinese operations, as head ofHyundai’s R&D operations in China. Hyundai said Mr Patuschka will oversee R&D strategy and lead the development of exclusive models tailored to the local Chinese market to help strengthen Hyundai’s presence in this market.

Mr Patuschka said: “I’m honored to take part in Hyundai Motor Group’s future vision during this exciting time of change and innovation. The transformation from hardware- to software-based competence in the Chinese market will be one of the biggest challenges for Hyundai Motor Group and therefore it will be one of my main priorities. I look forward to leveraging my years of experience to take Hyundai Motor Group’s development strategy and brand direction to the next level in China.”

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Hyundai said Patuschka’s technical expertise ranges from batteries for new energy vehicles to autonomous driving and connected services. He is credited with helping to drive Volkswagen Group’s growth in China and the development of the brand’s mobility services competence in this market.

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Hyundai’s sales in China have been in sharp decline since the political fall-out in 2016 over South Korea’s deployment of the THAAD missile defence shield provided by the US.Sales plunged by 24% to 785,000 units in 2017 in an expanding market and failed to recover significantly in 2018.In the first nine months of 2019, the sharp decline resumed – with volumes falling 21% to 443,408 units from 561,152 sales in the same period of last year.

At the end of November the company launched the ix25 SUV in China to help revive sales.