South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor managed a 1.3-percent increase in global sales in January from a year ago, the company said Wednesday, while its performance at home slackened.

Hyundai sold 342,607 cars in the month, including 297,507 overseas and 45,100 domestically. The figures represent a 3.1-percent hike for overseas but a 9.5 percent slide at home. Of the cars sold abroad, 56,200 were manufactured in the country and 241,307 out of the country.

The new Grandeur sedan, launched in November, pulled up sales as the company's bestseller in January at 10,586 units. As of the end of last month, the sedan's cumulative sales reached over 56,000 units.

The traditionally popular Avante (5,064 units) and Sonata (3,997 units) followed in the ranking.

The luxury Genesis line fell out of favor, shedding 5.5 percent in sales compared to January last year to 4,195 units.

Sales of recreational vehicles, including Santa Fe, Tucson and Maxcruz, slid 36.7 percent.

"We expect the stunted market growth in advanced countries to become more manifest this year," a company official said. "We will answer actively to customers' needs by strengthening the marketing of our main models and strategic lineups." (Yonhap)