Hyundai Motor Group, the world's No. 5 auto giant, said Thursday that its sales in the United States jumped in March on aggressive marketing and a recovery in the world's largest economy, with its flagship Hyundai Motor Co. setting a monthly sales record.

Hyundai Motor sold 75,019 units in the U.S. last month, its largest monthly tally ever. The March figure also represents a whopping 12 percent rise from a year earlier, the automotive group said.

The sharp rise in U.S. sales was driven by strong demand for the Genesis and Elantra sedans.

Sales of the Genesis luxury sedan more than doubled from a year earlier to reach 2,414 units in March with the comparable figure for the Elantra midsize sedan coming to 26,726 units, up 45 percent from a year earlier.

"The strong sales were mostly thanks to aggressive promotion and advertising," said an official at Hyundai Motor. "So far, U.S. sales have increased 7.5 percent."

Its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., also saw its U.S. sales rise 7.2 percent on-year to 58,771 units in March.

Kia's cumulative sales in the first three months of the year reached 141,100 units, exceeding its previous record seen in the first quarter of 2012, the group said.

The numbers were boosted by increased sales of the Sedona minivan, the Sorento sport utility vehicle and other recreational vehicles.

The two automakers' presence in the U.S. auto market rose 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier to 8.7 percent in March. The March market share also represents a 1 percentage point rise from the previous month, the group said. (Yonhap)