Midsize vehicle sales in South Korea jumped during the first two months of this year, showing signs of reclaiming the mainstream position that has been dominated by sport utility and full-size vehicles in recent years, industry data showed Thursday.

Automakers operating in South Korea, including Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., sold a combined 27,282 midsize vehicles during the January-February period, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.

The increase contrasts with the overall sales slump for passenger vehicles, which shrank 10 percent on-year to 106,586 units during the cited period. The midsize car segment is the only one that posted sales growth.

The data showed that subcompact vehicles saw their sales drop 28.8 percent to 4,364 units, while sales of compact cars fell 19 percent to 22,501 units. Full-size vehicles also posted a 6.8 percent decline in sales during the first two months of this year.

The sales growth of midsize vehicles was apparently driven by robust demand for Hyundai Motor's Sonata and Renault Samsung Motors Corp's SM5. In particular, RSM sold 4,651 units of the SM5 during the two months, up 22.1 percent from a year earlier.

The midsize car sales were also bolstered by the launch of their hybrid versions amid steadily growing demand for such environmentally friendly vehicles. Hyundai launched the hybrid version of the Sonata late last year.

Data showed sales of hybrid vehicles were growing steadily.

During the first two months of the year, automakers here sold a combined 5,195 units of hybrid vehicles, which accounted for 6.2 percent of all passenger cars sold, up 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier.

The ratio of hybrid vehicles stayed quite low at 0.9 percent in 2010, but it has been on the rise ever since, posting an all-time high of 4.4 percent last year.

The growing popularity of hybrids came in spite of record low oil prices and their relatively expensive price compared with other gasoline and diesel engine cars. Experts expect that the sales could gain more traction when oil prices rebound, awarding more merits for customers who are more conscious of fuel efficiency.

More available options will also likely help boost sales.

Hyundai Motor plans to unveil a plug-in hybrid electric Sonata during the first half of this year, while Kia Motors will roll out a new version of the K5 hybrid in the second half. (Yonhap)