Kia Motors, Korea's second-largest carmaker, saw its sales of the Sportage SUV in Europe hit a record high last month thanks to strong demand for its latest model, industry data showed Wednesday.

According to the data, Kia Motors sold a total of 18,092 units of the Sportage in Europe in March, up 43.6 percent from year earlier. Of them, the sales of its latest fourth-generation Sportage stood at around 14,000 units. 

The all-new Sportage was first unveiled in September for European customers but its sales started in full swing in most European countries last month.

The March sales of the Sportage represented the largest ever recorded for a single model produced by Kia Motors in Europe since the automaker entered there in 1990.

Along with the brisk sales of the Sportage, Hyundai Motor, Korea's leading carmaker, also fared well in Europe thanks to the Tucson SUV, whose sales jumped 48.5 percent on-year in March, the data showed.

Driven by such stellar performances of the two major SUV models, the two sister companies sold a combined 103,667 cars in Europe last month, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier. This topped their previous sales record of 92,693 units set in March last year. (Yonhap)