Combined vehicle sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. in the United States fell 3.3 percent on-year in July amid a stagnation in demand in the electric vehicle market, the companies said Friday. The two automotive companies said they sold 138,976 units combined in the U.S. last month. Hyundai Motor's sales gained 3.5 percent from a year earlier to 75,396 units, while those of Kia tumbled 10.4 percent to 63,580 units. Their combined sales of hybrid models reached 19,386 units, up 20.6 percent from last year. EV sales, however, fell 10.9 percent to 9,256 units despite the launch of Kia's new EV9 model due to what the companies called a slowdown in market demand for EVs. Hyundai's hybrid model sales reached 12,347 units, up 53.4 percent, while its overall sales of eco-friendly vehicles rose to 17,231 units, up 11.9 percent. Besides the current EV market environment, Kia also cited the discontinuation of its compact model Rio and a temporary supply shortage ahead of the launch of the revamped Sorento SUV for its weakened monthly performance. Source: Yonhap News Agency