South Korea's top automaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., saw their combined sales in the United States top 15 million units over the past 29 years, data showed Tuesday.

As of end-February, Hyundai Motor sold a cumulative 9.49 million units since it entered the U.S. market in 1986, according to industry data. Kia Motors has sold a total of 5.52 million of its cars since 1994.

Among the models sold in the U.S., Hyundai Motor's flagship Sonata midsize sedan was the most popular throughout the years with a total of 2.36 million units sold.

The Sonata was followed by the Elantra compact car and the Santa Fe crossover with 2.32 million units and 1.17 million units, respectively.

Hyundai and Kia, the flagships of the world's fifth-largest auto giant, Hyundai Motor Group, are aiming to sell a combined 1.41 million vehicles globally this year, with 760,000 units expected for Hyundai Motor and 650,000 units for Kia Motors.

Should their sales cruise along, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors will see each of their cumulative sales in the U.S. market reach the respective 10-million and 6-million mark by the second half of the year, according to industry watchers. (Yonhap)