Hyundai and Kia have both struggled in recent years as their sales contracted sharply in China, the world's largest car market, and due to their relatively weak SUV lineup.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which took the top slot in 2017, sold the most cars in the first six months, the findings showed.

Germany's Volkswagen Group, Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. in the United States made the top four.

The Franco-Japanese alliance sold 5.53 million cars combined, with Volkswagen's numbers standing at 5.51 million and Toyota reaching just under 5.21 million.

Corporate numbers revealed that total sales for the automotive alliance dipping for the first time in five years, due to sluggish sales in the North American market, despite the carmakers doing well in China.

VW said it sold 7.1 percent more cars this year vis-a-vis 2017, with Toyota posting 1.6 percent gains. GM, by selling its Opel affiliate to the PSA Group, saw its sales slide 11.3 percent to around 4.15 million units, with numbers being mostly strong in its home market.

"Effectively the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, VW and Toyota are running neck-and-neck, with the gap being very small," a market watcher here said.

He added that with growing protectionist trends it may be difficult for Hyundai and Kia to move up the ranking list at least in the short term with the success of new crossover SUVs to play a key role in pushing up sales. (Yonhap)