Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister automaker Kia Corp. saw their combined exports of eco-friendly vehicles exceed 200,000 for the first time in the first half of this year, industry data showed Sunday.

During the January-June period, the two giant carmakers in South Korea sold a combined 224,672 electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles overseas, up 30.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).

This represented the first time that their eco-friendly car exports have exceeded 200,000 in the cited period. It also came after the carmakers saw their green car exports top 100,000 for the first time in the first quarter of this year.

Market watchers expect that their green car sales this year could hover around 400,000 if the current trend continues.

Hyundai Motor exported 116,770 green cars during the first half, up 22.1 percent from a year earlier, while Kia's overseas sales of green cars also jumped 42.3 percent over the same period to 107,902 units, the data showed.

Hyundai Motor and Kia have ramped up efforts to produce green cars in line with the global drive toward eco-friendly and emission-zero vehicles.

Last year, they exported a combined 373,007 green cars, exceeding the 300,000 mark for the first time annually. It was up 38.2 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)