Renault Samsung Motors, the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., on Monday said its October sales soared 72.7 percent from a year earlier on the back of strong sales in its popular models.

The carmaker sold 21,980 vehicles last month from the previous 16,484 units registered a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The figure marks the first time for its sales to top 20,000 units since October 2011.

Exports nearly doubled on-year, going up 98.1 percent to 14,620 units over the cited period, according to the company.

The auto manufacturer said demand for cars such as the Nissan Rogue made at the company’s Busan plant as well as the popularity of the QM5 crossover fueled overseas sales.

The company said its sales in the domestic front also climbed 37.6 percent to 7,360 units from a year earlier.

For the first 10 months of the year, Renault Samsung’s accumulated sales reached 124,133 units, up 19.9 percent on-year from the 103,533 vehicles sold in the same period in 2013. A total of 61,072 of the cars were sold in South Korea, a 30.5 percent on-year gain from 2013, and overseas sales also moved up 11.2 percent to 48,440 units. (Yonhap)