The global annual car sales of the five Korean automakers topped 8 million for the first time. According to a report released Wednesday, they sold a combined total of 8.2 million cars at home and abroad last year, up 5.6 percent from the previous record of 7.76 million in 2011.

Domestic car sales dwindled a little, but an increase in exports accounted for the rise.

Hyundai sold 4.4 million cars globally, up 8.6 percent from the previous year -- 660,000 units here, down 2.3 percent on-year, but 3.73 million abroad, up 10.9 percent. It sold more than 500,000 units each of the Avante, Accent, Tucson, and Sonata.

Kia sold 2.71 million vehicles, up 7.1 percent from the previous year. Its bestseller was the Pride with 380,000 units. It also sold more than 300,000 Sportages, K3s and K5s.

GM Korea sold 800,000 cars in the domestic market, the best record since the firm was established in 2002, but its overall sales dropped 0.9 percent as exports dwindled.

Renault Samsung's sales plummeted to a mere 150,000 units, down 37.5 percent on-year. Ssangyong sold 120,000 vehicles, up 6.2 percent.