SEOUL - HYUNDAI Motor, South Korea's top car maker, may consider further production cuts as auto sales next year are expected to fall further, its vice-chairman said on Wednesday.

'As global auto makers are seeking survival through massive production cuts, Hyundai is not an exception,' Choi Jae-kook, Hyundai's vice-chairman, was quoted as saying during a year-end speech by a company spokesman.

The vice-chairman of Hyundai, the world's No 5 auto maker along with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp , said total global car sales were expected to decline to 60 million vehicles in 2009 from an estimated 65 million units this year and 70 million in 2007, citing internal information, according to the spokesman.

Mr Choi expressed deep concerns about production plans after checking overseas orders for January, the spokesman said.

Earlier this month, Hyundai unveiled measures to cut output such as halting overtime work and shortening working hours.

Global auto makers have been suffering from sharply declining consumer demand on a recession and tighter auto financing amid a credit crunch. -- THOMSON REUTERS