Hyundai Motor India said on Friday that its car sales rose by 42 per cent in July 2003 to an all-time high of 13,033 units.

Sales of the flagship 'Santro' climbed 29 per cent year-on-year to 9,891 units while that of the mid-size model 'Accent' more than doubled to 3,039 units from 1,384 units, a company statement said.

Sales of luxury sedan 'Sonata', however, went down to 103 units from 121 units sold in July last year.

"With our export orders surging, we are being forced to maintain a delicate balance between domestic demand and exports, given our production capacity limitations," HMIL managing director J I Kim said.

HMIL, the country's second-biggest carmaker, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company.