Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors said on May 29 their sales in the United States improved in the first four months of the year, but their slump in China continued.

In the January-April period, Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 396,793 vehicles in the US, up 3.7 percent from 382,470 units a year earlier, according to data from the two companies.

“Increased sales of Hyundai’s Santa Fe sport utility vehicle and Kias Sorento SUV boosted their sales results in the past four months,” a company spokesman said over the phone.

But the two South Korean carmakers saw their sales plunge 18 percent to 286,346 autos in China from 347,927 over the cited period.

China and the US are two biggest markets for Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world’s fifth-biggest carmaker by sales.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)