South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. saw its share of the European market inch up in April from a year earlier, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. managed to retain its portion, industry data showed Tuesday.
  

Hyundai's share in the 27-member European Union, excluding Malta, came to 3.2 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous year, according to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
  

In contrast, Kia saw its market share remain unchanged at 2.8 percent, the data showed.
  

The two automakers' combined share ranked eighth in the EU market last month, trailing other brands including Volkswagen Group, PSA Group, Renault Group, Ford and BMW Group.
  

Hyundai Motor's sales jumped 8.5 percent on-year in April to 36,841 units, and comparable figures for Kia came to 32,643 units, up 7.2 percent from last year's numbers, according to the data.
  

Combined sales of the South Korean duo came to 280,574 units in the first four months of the year, up 9.05 percent from the 257,301 units tallied a year before, the data showed. The two automakers' combined market share edged up 0.1 percentage point to 6 percent over the cited period.
  

The ACEA data showed that the number of newly registered passenger cars across Europe had reached 1.17 million units in April, up 6.9 percent from 1.09 million units in the previous year.
  

Volkswagen Group, with flagship brands such as Audi, claimed the largest portion of the market at 26.1 percent last month, although its share slipped 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier.
  

PSA Group, maker of the Peugeot and Citroen brands, came second with 10.8 percent. Renault and Ford trailed with 10.6 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
  

Japanese auto firm Toyota Group, which manufactures the Lexus brand, had a market share of 3.8 percent, while Nissan's numbers stood at 3.4 percent for April, according to the data. (Yonhap)