Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that sales of its cars in Western Europe have surpassed that of Japanese rivals Toyota Motor and Honda Motor over the last 7 1/2 years. 

Its auto affiliates -- Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors -- sold 552,701 cars in the January to June period, about 70,000 more than those sold by Toyota and Honda. 

The two carmakers together make up roughly 6 percent of all automobiles sold in Western Europe.


In the first half of this year, the combined sales of Hyundai and Kia inched down by 0.3 percent on-year, while those of Toyota and Honda reduced by 2.2 percent each.

The automakers have been recording a gradual increase in their European sales since 2012, after reaching its one million-unit sales milestone last year. 

Hyundai Motor Group said their sales and design strategy targeting European customers worked well, where the automotive market has been largely led by diesel models as well as hybrid and electric cars. 

The automaker also attributed the popularity of Hyundai and Kia cars in Europe to its increased brand awareness in motor sports. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)