Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Tuesday their combined sales in the United States rose 9.9 percent in June from a year earlier on robust sales of SUVs and environment-friendly models.

Last month, Hyundai and Kia sold 145,849 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market, up from 132,739 units a year earlier, according to the companies' sales data.

Hyundai's sales climbed 11 percent to 75,354 units in June from 67,597 a year ago, while Kia's were up 8 percent to 70,495 from 65,142 during the same period.

Hyundai's monthly results include its independent Genesis brand's sales figures.

The two South Korean carmakers' monthly results were helped by robust sales of Hyundai's Tucson and Santa Fe SUVs, as well as the all-electric IONIQ 5 model, and Kia's Sportage, Sorento and Telluride SUVs, the companies said.

"Our award-winning EV lineup continues to build momentum with the best all-time monthly sales for the IONIQ 5 and the first time with over 1,000 units sold for the IONIQ 6," Randy Parker, Hyundai Motor America CEO, said in a statement.

From January to June, their sales jumped 17 percent to a record 820,180 autos from 702,875 during the same period of last year. Hyundai's sales climbed 15 percent on-year to 425,847 units, while Kia's were up 18 percent at 394,333.

Hyundai and Kia have set a combined sales goal of 7.52 million units in 2023, up 9.8 percent from the 6.85 million units they sold last year.

Hyundai and Kia aim to sell 4.32 million autos and 3.2 million units, respectively, in global markets this year.

The two South Korean carmakers together form the world's third-largest carmaker by sales after Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen Group. (Yonhap)