SEOUL, South Korea -- Hyundai Motor Co. said second-quarter net profit rose 48 percent to a record high as robust sales in China and India helped it ride out the global auto slump, according to The Associated Press.

Hyundai Motor, which along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp. forms the world's fifth-biggest automotive group, said in a regulatory filing Thursday it earned $650 million in the three months ended June 30.

Company spokesman Ki Jin-ho said the profit was the biggest ever for a single quarter.

Total revenue during the three-month period, however, fell 11 percent to $6.5 billion.

Still, the result snapped four straight quarters of decline in net profit at Hyundai, which has been expanding aggressively overseas while gaining a global reputation for quality. Earlier this month, the company introduced its first hybrid electric vehicle, the Elantra LPI Hybrid.

Hyundai, like other automakers, has been hit by falling demand amid the global economic downturn. The Ulsan, South Korea-based company, however, has used the opportunity to introduce new models and gain market share.

Hyundai said it grabbed 5 percent global market share for the first time despite what it said was a 15 percent decline in demand for autos worldwide during the first half of 2009.