Seoul: Kia Corp. said Monday its global sales rose in May from a year earlier, supported by robust demand for its Sportage compact SUVs. The company sold a total of 277,715 units globally last month, marking a 2.7 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kia Sportage SUVs significantly contributed to this growth, with 52,293 units sold during the one-month period. Following this, Seltos SUVs recorded sales of 29,208 units, and the mid-sized crossover SUV Sorento achieved sales of 21,488 units.

Domestic sales of Kia vehicles totaled 44,713 units, reflecting a slight decline of 0.6 percent compared to the previous year. However, sales outside of South Korea showed an increase, rising 3.4 percent on-year to 232,781 units.

Kia attributed the sales growth to strong demand for its hybrid SUV lineup in the United States and its commercial electric vehicle lineup in Europe. This demand has helped drive vehicle sales, extending the company's year-on-year growth for the third consecutive month.