(Hyundai Motor Group) Hyundai Motor and Kia posted record first-half sales in the US, helped by strong demand for hybrid vehicles even as electric vehicle sales declined.The two Korean automakers said Thursday they sold a combined 920,383 vehicles in the US market from January to June, including Genesis models, up 3 percent from a year earlier and their highest-ever tally for a first half.Hyundai Motor sold 489,656 vehicles, including Genesis, up 2.7 percent on-year, while Kia’s sales rose 3.4 percent to 430,727 units. Genesis sold 39,088 vehicles, up 4.6 percent. Both Hyundai and Kia set new first-half sales records.Their eco-friendly vehicle sales also reached a record high, increasing 47 percent year-on-year to 265,514 vehicles. This accounts for 31.2 percent of their total sales.Hybrid sales surged 65.5 percent to 225,321 units, offsetting a 9.7 percent decline in EV sales to 40,193 units.“The entire lineup from sedans to SUVs have seen a positive H1 performance,” said Eric Watson, vice president of Kia Motors America. “Our swift response to change by maintaining a balanced portfolio of internal combustion engines, hybrids and electric models was key.”Hyundai Motor’s best selling models included Tucsan (117,612 vehicles), Elantra (79,839 vehicles) and Santa Fe (64,003 vehicles). For Kia, Sportage (94,907 vehicles), Telluride (73,602 vehicles) and K4 (73,579 vehicles) recorded the highest sales.Among major rivals, General Motors remained the top seller with 1,335,461 vehicles, though its sales fell 6.8 percent from a year earlier. Toyota sold 1,243,390 vehicles, up 0.5 percent, while Honda’s sales rose 2.4 percent to 756,920 units.In the April-June period, Hyundai and Kia sold 489,663 vehicles, a 3.5 percent increase and the highest ever Q2 sales record.In June alone, sales increased 10.8 percent year-on-year to 155,587 vehicles. Hyundai, including Genesis, saw a 11.2 percent increase to 85,080 vehicles, and Kia 10.4 percent to 70,507 vehicles.Hyundai’s Elantra (15,179 vehicles) and Palisade (11,336 vehicles) had strong performances, while Sportage (15,995 vehicles), Telluride (11,432 vehicles) and Carnival (6,986 vehicles) anchored Kia’s sales.