Seoul, Nov 21 : Combined vehicle sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia, South Korea's leading automakers, in Europe fell 7.5 per cent in October from a year ago, industry data showed on Thursday.

According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 82,840 units in Europe last month.

ACEA data showed Hyundai Motor's sales dropped 3.9 per cent to 41,594 units, while those of Kia dropped 11 per cent to 41,246 units, reports Yonhap news agency.

The South Korean automakers sold 904,879 units combined in Europe during the January-October period, down 3.8 percent from the same period last year.

The combined market share of Hyundai and Kia in Europe for the 10-month period was tallied at 8.4 per cent, down 0.4 percentage point from last year.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group outperformed Volkswagen Group to become the world's second-largest automaker in terms of operating profit.

According to automotive industry data, Hyundai Motor Group achieved sales of 69.4 trillion won ($49.6 billion) and an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won during the third quarter.

For the period from January to September, the South Korean automaker's cumulative sales reached 208.9 trillion won, while operating profit was recorded at 21.4 trillion won.

In terms of operating profit alone, Hyundai Motor Group ranked second among global competitors after Toyota Group.

The Japanese automaker reported an operating profit of 1.15 trillion yen ($7.4 billion) for the third quarter. and an operating profit of 32.4 trillion won for the January-September period.

Hyundai Motor Group, however, is likely to take some time before surpassing Volkswagen Group in global sales volume.

/IANS