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South Korea's Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia on Sunday said their combined electric vehicle sales exceeded 1.5 million units as of December, 12 years after Hyundai debuted its first EV model.

Hyundai launched its first EV model, the BlueOn, which was based on the i10 mini car, in the domestic market in July 2011.

Hyundai and Kia sold 516,441 EVs in 2023, bringing their accumulated EV sales to 1.53 million units at the end of last year, the companies' data showed, reports Yonhap news agency.

Eight out of 10 Hyundai and Kia EVs were sold overseas last year. Best-selling models include Hyundai's Kona Electric and IONIQ 5, and Kia's Niro and EV6.

Despite a slowdown in EV sales, Hyundai plans to launch the electrified version of the Casper mini car later this year, and Kia will start production of the EV3 compact EV model at its domestic plant in the second quarter.

In 2024, Hyundai aims to sell 4.24 million autos, slightly higher than the 4.21 million last year, and Kia aims to sell 3.2 million units, up 3.6 percent from 3.08 million.

The two together form the world's third-largest carmaker by sales after Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen Group.