Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. will likely see sales of their major SUV models exceed 100,000 units in Europe this year, industry data showed Wednesday.
  

According to the data, Hyundai Motor sold 95,669 units of the Tucson SUV in Europe during the January-October period, while Kia Motors' sales of the Sportage SUV came to 90,018 units.
 
 
Given that their monthly sales stood at around 9,000-9,500 units throughout the year, the two South Korean carmakers could see the annual sales of the two major SUV models top 100,000 units in 2015.
  

This would be the first time in three years for Hyundai Motor to have any car model whose sales exceed the mark in Europe. Kia Motors has not had such a model for the previous seven years.
  

In the past, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors mostly saw their compact and smaller models reach that sales mark in Europe, but the latest data indicate that SUV models are taking the baton thanks to the growing popularity of outdoor activity-oriented vehicles.
  

Sales are expected to accelerate further down the road as Hyundai Motor started to sell the third-generation of the Tucson in Europe last June, while Kia Motors plans to launch the sale of its latest Sportage there early next year, market experts said. (Yonhap)