South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. together sold more than 1 million cars in Europe last year for the first time ever thanks to the region’s strong demand for green vehicles.

Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor and its smaller sibling Kia Motors sold a combined 1,037,596 cars across Europe last year, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) on Wednesday.

Europe has become the auto giant’s third global market to cross the 1 million-unit milestone after the United States and China.

Shipments of Hyundai Motor rose 3.9 percent year over year to 543,292 units and Kia Motors 4.7 percent to 494,304 units. The Korean duo’s feat comes against the slowdown in overall auto demand in Europe last year, whose total sales were down by about 6,000 vehicles from the previous year.

The growth in sales translated into bigger market share for the Korean automakers. Hyundai Motor’s share in 2018 stood at 3.5 percent and Kia’s 3.2 percent for a combined 6.6 percent.

The two automakers have been gradually expanding their presence in the European market, with their combined share climbing from 6.0 percent in 2015 to 6.4 percent in 2017.

Low-emission vehicles, such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, were the primary growth drivers. The Hyundai Ioniq that comes in hybrid and all-electric models saw sales surge 43.2 percent on year to 32,512 units. Sales of the Kia Niro eco-friendly crossover also jumped 33.6 percent to 45,255.

It remains to be seen whether the Korean carmakers would extend their winning streak in Europe’s auto market because the market outlook this year is equally grim, with auto sales in the region projected to slide 0.2 percent to 17.8 million units.

The lingering Brexit uncertainty and U.S.-China trade tensions would continue to weigh on the global economy, according to the Hyundai Motor Group Global Business Intelligence Center in its latest report. New car sales would also be impacted by the introduction of Europe’s upgraded emissions standard, the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

By Yong Hwan-jin and Kim Hyo-jin

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