Hyundai Motor posted the largest H1 operating profit in its history this year at 25.023 billion won, up 11.4 percent, second only to a 12 percent jump for BMW in the world auto industry, with 85 percent of its car sales coming from overseas, the auto maker said recently.

The significance of the feat is that the automaker was able to make up for the lack of domestic sales by boosting its sales overseas thanks to the improved quality of its autos, industry sources said, pushing aside its old image as a maker of cheap cars.

The carmaker continues to stick to its marketing strategy to boost its overseas car sales despite the European debt crisis causing the world economy to slow down in the second half by introducing new car models and installment payments.

The car company also figured that the French government’ s rumored adoption of a safeguard on imports of Korean-made cars into France under the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement won’ t be realized, ending up as just a rumor.

President Chung Jin-haeng of Hyundai Motor said about 90 percent of Hyundai Motor cars sold in Europe were produced in various European countries and, therefore, the tariff rates are already very low even if the safeguard by the French government is put into action.

Hyundai Motor sold 327,963 cars at home, down 4.6 percent YoY, and 1,854,805 cars overseas, up 14.9 percent YoY, with domestic sales taking up only 15 percent of total car sales in the first half, the company said.

The share of domestic car sales has been decreasing since 2004, the peak year at 26.3 percent. It fell to 23.3 percent in 2006, 20.5 percent in 2008, and 16.8 percent in 2011, with Hyundai Motor car sales picking up hugely in such countries as the United States, China, and Europe. The U.S. bought 357,000 Hyundai cars in the first half, up 10.5 percent YoY, 233,000 cars in Europe, the center of the economic crisis, up 15.4 percent YoY, and 365,000 cars in China, up 4.4 percent YoY.

Both Hyundai and Kia sold 110,095 cars in July, sharing 9.5 percent of the U.S. car market during the month, up 4 percent YoY. Hyundai sold 62,021 cars, while Kia sold 40,807 cars in the month.

Hyundai Motor management feels that the demand for autos would contract around the world due to the impact from the European debt crisis more than they thought early in the year. The company projected 77.6 million cars would be sold worldwide this year, but the projection was cut to 77.1 million cars in the second quarter. On the other hand, the projection for the U.S. car market has increased to 14.3 million cars, while those for Europe and China are now down to 14.09 million cars and 12.09 million cars, respectively, in Q2.

Vice President Lee Won-hee in charge of the financial accounting for the motor company, said the introduction of the new i30 model and the i20 model with a face lift would help the company to reach its sales target in the second half in Europe despite the debt crisis there.

He also said the outlook in China for car sales is also not bad, as SUV sales have been rising rapidly in line with the company’ s plans to expand the production of the Santa Fe model at its third Beijing plant.

The vice president also said Hyundai Motor has already secured technologies for the production of various energy saving car models such as hybrid, electric, clean diesel, and hydrogen battery cars. The hydrogen battery car model to be produced by Hyundai would be among the best five of such models in the world.

Vice Chairman Shin Jong-woon of Hyundai Motor Group said at the Summer Forum of the Federation of Korean Industries held on Jeju Island that Hyundai Motor would be able to meet its annual sales target this year despite the sluggish world economy by improving the quality of its cars, adding that at the base of its quality management lies the reform of the minds of Hyundai employees, and not just a reform of systems and reform campaigns. “The effect is 20 to 30 times greater when you change the minds of the workers, not just replacing them with new workers, ” he stressed.

When Chairman Chung Mong-koo called for quality management in 2000, the no-malfunction rate stood at 17 percent, but it rose to l78 percent this year. The rate refers to no problems for a new car model since its introduction over three years.