Sales of cars made by Hyundai Motor Co. lost ground in the European Union in January, while numbers for its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. increased, official data showed Wednesday.

According to data released by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), South Korea's largest carmaker sold 30,047 units in the first month of this year, down 5.9 percent from 31,918 vehicles sold in January 2013.

The loss, coupled with the 5.5 percent increase in overall sales among the 27 member states checked, caused Hyundai's market share to drop from 3.6 percent last month to 3.2 percent.

In January, sales of new cars hit 935,640 units in the EU, with most countries posting growth. It marked the fifth month in a row that registration of new cars increased on the continent, raising expectation that one of the largest automobile markets is on the mend. Sales of cars in Britain and Spain, in particular, rose 7.6 percent each, with Germany and Italy reporting increases of 7.2 percent and 3.2 percent, the ACEA said.

Sales number for Kia gained 3.6 percent to 24,108 units from 23,276 tallied in the cited period. The company's market share was unchanged at 2.6 percent.

Combined market share of Hyundai and Kia, which together make up Hyundai Motor Group, stood at 5.8 percent, down from 6.2 percent a year earlier.

The latest report by the ACEA showed Volkswagen Group, which include marques such as Audi and Skoda, enjoyed a market share of 25.4 percent, followed by PSA Group, made up of the Peugeot and Citroen brands, controlling 11.7 percent. Renault had a 9.2 percent stake, with Ford, GM, Fiat and BMW all having better market share than Hyundai and Kia combined. (Yonhap)