South Korea's top auto affiliate duo Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. lost some footing at home, barely holding on to their 60-percent threshold last month, data showed Friday as other market tallies indicated imported brands were quickly gaining customers.
  

The combined share of the two affiliates in the South Korean car market stood at 60.7 percent in January, with 31.9 percent for Hyundai and the remaining 28.8 percent taken by Kia, according to industry data.
  

Compared to last year's monthly average market share of 65.04 percent that the two had held, the latest figure shows that Hyundai and Kia are getting off to a considerably slower start this year.
  

The weakened grip on the homefront came as overseas brands are squeezing their way into the market here, buoyed by growing demand for European and Japanese vehicles, industry watchers said.
  

Imported car sales hit an all-time monthly high at 18.1 percent of the country's auto market in January, according to data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.
 

"Until now, it was relatively clear that Hyundai and Kia's rivals were mainly German brands, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen, but with the January data, it seems that U.S., Japanese and other European names may become a considerable threat down the road as well," an industry official said.
  

The Hyundai Motor Group affiliates seem well aware of the current situation.
  

Earlier this week, during a media event for the new i40 Saloon and Wagon, Hyundai's marketing division director Kim Sang-dae pointed out that the firm's midsize vehicle lineups are "major models (that will) help minimize the number of customers turning to imported brands."    
  

Strong performance in exports may help ease earnings concerns for Hyundai and Kia, but plunging oil prices are not doing them any favors offshore, industry watchers said.
  

Total outgoing shipments of cars from South Korea to oil-producing nations have been falling so far this year as plunging prices of crude oil have put downward pressure on currency valuations in the area.
  

Car exports to member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Russia, plummeted 79.6 percent from Jan. 1-20 from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Shipments to Middle Eastern nations also stumbled 24.7 percent over the cited period.
  

Hyundai and Kia's sales of eco-friendly models also did not sit well with cheaper oil prices.
  

The duo's hybrid car sales in the United States dropped 20 percent on-year in January, as opposed to Japanese rival Toyota's 1-percent fall in the same period, according to U.S.-based WardsAuto magazine
  

Hyundai Motor Group has set a goal to produce and sell 8.2 million vehicles this year, up 2.5 percent from what the conglomerate sold in 2014. Although the group's chairman Chung Mong-koo said sales could "also go beyond the 9 million mark," the current target is somewhat of a modest increase considering that in the previous year the group had set out to up sales by over 6 percent on-year. (Yonhap)