Hyundai-Kia's EU market shares shrink in 2014

South Korea's No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. both shed market share in Europe in 2014, despite having sold more cars on-year, official data showed Sunday.

The two automakers' market shares in the region slipped 0.1 percentage point each for the whole of 2014, coming to 3.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, according to the data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.

Their total number of cars sold in Europe, however, moved up in the year, as their combined sales stood at 754,355 units, up 2.2 percent from the 737,287 units tallied a year earlier, according to the data.

In comparison to the two affiliates' combined share of 6 percent, other carmakers, including Volkswagen, PSA Group, Renault, Ford and BMW, claimed a larger portion. 

A total of 12.55 million passenger vehicles were sold in Europe last year, up 5.7 percent from the 11.88 million units that were newly registered in 2013.

In the month of December alone, sales figures for Hyundai and Kia plunged 7 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, according to the ACEA statistics. In contrast, the overall new car sales in the EU region jumped 4.7 percent during the one-month period.

Volkswagen Group, with popular models, such as the Audi and Skoda, pulled up its market share for last year to 25.4 percent from the previous year's 25 percent, the data showed.

PSA Group, with lineups, including the Peugeot and Citroen, was second in line with 10.8 percent, followed by Renault's and Ford's 9.7 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.

Japanese carmaker Toyota, known for its Lexus brand, had a market share of 4.2 percent in 2014, while Nissan's number stood at 3.7 percent, according to the data. (Yonhap)