Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., saw their combined sales in the United States grow 9 percent in November, thanks to strong sales in sport utility vehicles, industry data showed Thursday.

The two South Korean auto giants sold a combined 115,011 units in the US last month, up from 105,560 units during the same period last year, the data showed.

Hyundai's sales rose 4.2 percent to 62,507 units, led by its two sport utility vehicles, Tucson and Santa Fe, while Kia's sales jumped 15.3 percent to 52,504 units thanks to the best-ever November sales of the Forte family of compact cars and the Sportage SUV.

"With gas prices remaining relatively low throughout the year and a rather robust economy, our Tucson and Santa Fe SUVs, with sales up 10 and 18 percent, respectively, continue to be the shining stars in the Hyundai line-up," said Derrick Hatami, vice president of national sales for Hyundai Motor America.

Michael Sprague, chief operating officer of Kia Motors America, said that sales picked up throughout November and "culminated in a strong Black Friday weekend."

The Forte compact car saw its sales spike 62 percent to 8,111 units from last year's 5,010, while Sportage's sales also jumped 33 percent to 5,608 units compared with last year's 4,211. (Yonhap)