Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top carmaker, and its sister company, Kia Corp., are set to post combined exports of 2 million units in 2023, data showed Sunday, on the back of the post-pandemic market recovery.

Hyundai and Kia shipped 945,062 and 867,136 respective units of automobiles over the January-October period, according to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association.

The combined figure represented a 17.5 percent rise from the same period in 2022, the data showed.

Considering the monthly shipments of 180,000 units by the two carmakers, industry officials anticipate that their overseas sales for all of 2023 will exceed 2 million units for the first time since 2016.

"The increase came after the group expanded domestic production capabilities to address the rising demand for eco-friendly cars around the globe," a Hyundai Motor Group official said.

The combined value of exports also reached $43.9 billion over the January-October period, data showed, already beating the previous year's combined shipments worth $41.5 billion.

The average price of cars sold came to $24,000, up 68 percent from $14,000 tallied in 2016. (Yonhap)