HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Hyundai Motor Co. sold more than 310,000 vehicles in China in the first five months of this year, a market researcher said Wednesday, indicating Korea’s largest automaker has managed to maintain growth in the world’s largest auto market.

According to LMC Automotive, a global research firm for the automotive industry, Hyundai Motor sold 314,600 units in China during the January-May period, up 2 percent from a year earlier.

In May, Hyundai Motor sold 62,350 units, compared to 67,000 units a month earlier.

The growth during the five-month period was attributed to stronger sales of the automaker’s subcompact car Accent, which is sold as the Verna in the Chinese market

The Sonata YF sedan has also contributed to the sales, boosted by rising demand for mid-sized cars there, the researcher said.

Meanwhile, Kia Motors Corp., the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, sold a total of 185,500 vehicles in China in the first five months of this year, driven by the sales of its small car K2.

The number represents a 16.7 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

The overall sales volume of China’s passenger vehicle market reached 5.7 million units in the five-month period, up 8 percent from a year.