Kia Motors, the country’s second-largest carmaker, will make concerted efforts to increase sales and thereby improve profitability, its top executives said Friday.

Amid sluggish earnings, the company replaced one of its two co-chief executive officers in its general meeting of stockholders.

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo said in the meeting that Kia Motors would step up efforts to secure ability for sustainable growth in the future despite uncertainties in the changing business environment.

“Kia Motors will focus its energy on efforts to stabilize global management, setting up effective cooperative ties between production and sales networks at home and abroad,’’ he said at a meeting at group headquarters in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul.

“It will seek quantitative growth by improving brand value in advanced markets on the one hand and increasing sales in emerging markets on the other,’’ he added.

Kia Motors President Cho Nam-hong also said that the company will make a turnaround to get in the black from this year by improving profitability through increased sales.

Kia Motors, 39 percent-owned by Hyundai Motor, set a goal of selling 1.69 million cars globally to achieve 23 trillion won ($22.8 billion) in sales with new models this year.

At the general meeting of stockholders, Chung Eui-sun, son of Hyundai-Kia Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, was replaced as a co-chief executive by Kim Ik-hwan, who has served as Kia’s vice chairman since last October.

Last year, Kia Motors posted a 10 percent decline in sales. It has reported operating losses over the past two years under the helm of the junior Chung. He will serve as Kia’s chief of overseas sales and planning, according to a company official.

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