Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on strong demand for their SUV models.

Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 90,360 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market in January, up from 88,359 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data.

Hyundai's US sales climbed 10 percent to 47,872 units from 43,394 over the cited period, while Kia's declined 5.5 percent to 42,488 from 44,965.

"High levels of consumer interest across our product lineup resulted in record-breaking January sales even as we continue to navigate through the global pandemic and microchip shortage," Randy Parker, senior vice president in charge of national sales at Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement.

Robust demand for Hyundai's Tucson and Palisade SUVs and Kia's Sportage and Sorento SUVs buoyed the overall monthly sales result, the companies said.

US sales figures for Hyundai's independent Genesis brand were not immediately available.

In 2021, their combined US sales jumped 19 percent to 1.44 million autos from 1.21 million units a year earlier despite the prolonged pandemic and chip shortages.

Kia plans to launch the all-electric EV6 sedan and the all-new Sportage SUV in the first half of this year to boost sales.

Hyundai said it will focus on promoting the pure electric IONIQ 5 and SUV models in the US market this year. 

This year, Hyundai and Kia aim to sell a combined 7.47 million vehicles in global markets, up 12 percent from their sales of 6.67 million units last year. (Yonhap)