Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their sales in the United States rose 7.9 percent in January from a year earlier on robust SUV sales.

Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a combined 91,173 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last month, up from 84,498 units a year ago, according to sales data from the companies.

Hyundai's sales rose 4.7 percent on-year to 46,208 units last month from 44,143, while Kia's jumped 11 percent to 44,965 from 40,355 over the cited period, the data showed.

Hyundai's sales result includes the sale of its independent Genesis brand vehicles.

"After outpacing the industry in 2020, Kia's upward trajectory and positive momentum continued with record-breaking January sales," said Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia's American operations.

Strong sales of Hyundai's Palisade and Tucson SUV models, and Kia's Telluride and Sportage SUVs buoyed the monthly results.

He expected the upward trend to continue under the current quarter and beyond as Kia plans to launch five all-new and upgraded vehicles in the US market this year.

For all of 2020, the carmakers sold 1.22 million autos in the US amid the COVID-19 pandemic, down 7.6 percent from 1.33 million a year earlier. (Yonhap)