Nissan Urvan drives up sales of Universal Motors

Universal Motors Corp. (UMC) has been able to sustain its overall sales this year through an increase in the sales of its Nissan Urvan.

Through its successful "UrVan, UrBusiness" promo, UMC has been able to sustain steady sales this year, according to Elizabeth Lee, vice president for marketing.

Lee said from previous sales of between 60 to 70 units a month, Urvan sales almost doubled, thus propping up UMC’s overall sales that include the Frontier pick-up and Patrol sports utility vehicle.

In its first salvo, UMC targetted the country’s small business entrepreneurs looking for a mid-size commercial vehicle.

This time around, UMC is targetting the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) market through its "Ipadala mo, Negosyo" promo, Lee said.

UMC has tied up with Philippine National Bank (PNB) to offer a variety of financing packages wherein the OFWs can remit their monthly payments for the purchase of an Urvan which their families here in the Philippines can use for personal or commercial purposes.

UMC has initially tied up with PNB because of the bank’s international and domestic branch and remittance network.

Lee assured that UMC is also talking with other banks and financial institutions such as Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and even SB Corp. which grants loans to small and medium enterprises.

The Urvan can be used as a commercial commuter vehicle, school bus, delivery van or even as an emergency medical ambulance.

UMC, Lee said, can easily reconfigure the vehicle for commercial purpose.