The figure accounted for 1.8 percent of the total shipment around the globe last year. A total of 2.34 million eco-friendly cars were sold worldwide last year, up 10 percent from a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. sold some 70,000 eco-friendly cars combined last year, ranking fourth after Toyota, Honda and Renault-Nissan Alliance, the data showed.

Despite the on-year sales jump, eco-friendly cars accounted for a mere 0.9 percent of all registered vehicles in Asia's fourth largest economy, though it was up slightly from 0.7 percent a year earlier.

Industry watchers said the proportion of eco-friendly cars will likely grow considerably this year, backed by a government policy of boosting the spread of green cars. The launch of new models from both Hyundai and Kia is helping sales.

The government is committed to encouraging more people to drive eco-friendly vehicles as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and generate new growth momentum for its auto industry.

In December, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will work to have more than 1 million eco-friendly cars on the road by 2020 by backing automakers' research and development and extending more subsidies to buyers. (Yonhap)