Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., said Tuesday its April sales rose 2.1 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of a new model.

Renault Samsung sold a total of 22,444 vehicles in April, up from 21,981 units a year earlier, helped by strong sales of its QM3 compact sport-utility vehicle, the company said in a statement. 

Domestic sales increased 1.9 percent year-over-year to 8,702 units from 8,536 units. Exports were up 2.2 percent to 13,742 from 13,445 during the same period in 2016, it said.

In the January-April period, the carmaker sold a combined 88,563 autos, up 16 percent from 76,564 in the year-ago period, it said.

The company's current lineup also includes the SM7 large-size sedan, the SM5 midsize sedan, the SM3 compact, the pure-electric SM3 Z.E. sedan and the QM3 compact SUV.

French automaker Renault S.A. owns 80 percent of Renault Samsung.  (Yonhap)