South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. may see their combined share in the European market surpass 7 percent for the first time this year, industry watchers said Friday.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold 101,322 vehicles in Europe in September, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier and representing a 7.8 percent market share, according to the two companies.

Hyundai's sales declined 4.6 percent on-year to 49,439 units in Europe last month, while Kia's sales gained 3.2 percent to 51,883 units.

In the January-September period, the two carmakers sold a total of 620,072 units in Europe, down 24.1 percent from a year earlier amid the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak.
    
Hyundai Motor sold 308,747 autos in the cited period, down 27.9 percent from a year earlier. Kia's sales declined 20 percent on-year to 311,325.

But during the first nine months of the year, their combined share in the European market reached 7.2 percent, up from 6.7 percent in the same period of last year.

Industry watchers said in light of the trend, their market share in Europe is expected to surpass 7 percent for the first time this year. (Yonhap)