WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. notched record sales in the United States last year amid a surging auto market in the world's biggest economy after the worst recession in decades.

Hyundai Motor America (HMA) sold 538,228 vehicles in 2010, up 24 percent from a year earlier and an all-time sales and market share record, HMA said in a statement.

Hyundai's affiliate Kia Motor Co. said it posted sales of 356,268 units last year, up 18.7 percent from 2009.

General Motors (GM) was the biggest seller with 2.22 million vehicles last year in the U.S., which witnessed an 11 percent increase in annual auto sales to about 11.6 million vehicles, stopping a four-year decline. Ford came in second with 1.97 million vehicles and Toyota third with 1.76 million.

Hyundai's December sales reached 44,802 units, up 33 percent from 2009.

John Krafcik, HMA president and CEO, attributed the strong performance to Hyundai's all new Sonata sedan.

"While we grew total volume 24 percent, retail volume through our 800-strong dealer network climbed 35 percent, or 115,786 units, with 90,349 of that retail gain coming from the game-changing 2011 Sonata," Krafcik said. "That marks the biggest retail sales increase of any car in the entire industry, and it shows how well consumers have responded to our high-tech four-cylinder lineup, dynamic new design and the mid-size segment's first five-star 2011 NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) crash test result."

Sales of the Genesis luxury sedan increased 33 percent to 29,122 vehicles last year.

Krafcik said Hyundai's new flagship Equus, competing with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series and Audi A8, "began hitting showrooms in December to high demand and limited availability, resulting in 196 sales."

Hyundai targets an Equus sales volume of 2,000 to 3,000 in 2011, he said.