UPDATE 1-Hyundai sees its 2010 global sales improving on 2009

(Adds details, background)

SHANGHAI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), South Korea's top automaker, expects its global sales in 2010 to be better than this year, a senior executive said on Thursday.

Hyundai was seeing improvements in several markets, Steve Yang, a Hyundai chief executive told reporters on the sidelines of an industry forum in Shanghai.

He declined to elaborate or share Hyundai's estimated sales growth rate for 2010.

Hyundai has targeted sales of about 3 million vehicles in 2009, compared with 2.78 million last year, Chung Tae-hwan, the company's chief financial officer, said in July.

The group said on Thursday it expects car sales in China this year to jump 83 percent from 2008, led by new models and as economic stimulus measures spur demand in the country. [ID:nSEO22895] (Reporting by Fang Yan and Jacqueline Wong)