Hyundai and affiliate Kia achieved their biggest-ever combined share of the European car market last month with 7 percent.

Although overall sales of new cars in Europe last year dropped by 8 percent compared to 2011, Hyundai and Kia were the only automakers to see their sales rise, overtaking Toyota as the bestselling Asian carmaker in Europe.

Theo European Automobile Manufacturers' Association on Saturday said Hyundai's market share in December was 4.1 percent and Kia's 2.9 percent, putting them in sixth place ahead of Ford's 6.5 percent, Fiat's 6 percent, Daimler's 5.8 percent, and Toyota's 4.6 percent.

For the whole of last year, Hyundai and Kia's combined overall market share was 6.2 percent, placing them eighth.

In Germany, Europe's largest market, Hyundai and Kia sold 155,673 cars, overtaking Renault and Skoda to become the bestselling non-German brand.