Hyundai Motor Group, the world's No. 5 auto giant, said Sunday its April sales in the United States grew

1.3 percent on-year, with its flagship Hyundai Motor Co. posting its best sales record for the month.

Hyundai Motor sold 68,009 units in the U.S. last month, its largest April tally ever, the automotive group said. The figure also represents a 2.9 percent increase from a year earlier.

The rise in U.S. sales was driven by stronger demand for the Accent subcompact and the Genesis sedan.

Sales of the Accent jumped 27.9 percent from the previous year to 8,208 units in April, with the comparable figure for the Genesis luxury sedan surging 39.5 percent on-year to 3,159 units, according to Hyundai Motor Group.

"For six years in a row we've set April sales records going into the spring selling season. With the launch of our all-new Sonata Hybrid and first Sonata Plug-In Hybrid this month, we are well poised to keep this momentum going," a Hyundai Motor official said.

Smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp., in contrast, saw its sales in the U.S. edge down 0.7 percent on-year to 53,282 units, paring some of the gains made by Hyundai Motor, the group said.

Kia's cumulative sales for the January-April period, however, expanded 4.1 percent from the year before to 240,038 units, led by strong sales of the Sportage and Sorento crossovers.

The two automaker's combined cumulative sales reached 434,420 units, up 5.2 percent on-year, while that of overall car sales in the U.S. came to 5,411,707 units, up 5.4 percent from the previous year, according to auto industry information provider Automotive News. (Yonhap)