Mitsubishi posts 7.7% sales growth in first half

MANILA, Philippines - Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp (MMPC) reported a 7.7-percent growth in sales to 16,865 units during the first six months of the year from a year ago level.

The local automotive industry closed the first half of the year with a slight decrease of 1.6 percent, registering sales of 70,000 units based on Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA ) data.

Year to date figures also show that MMPC is now the market leader in commercial vehicles category with sales of 15,997 for the first semester, broken down as 15,759 light commercial vehicles (LCVs), and 238 trucks and buses. MMPC’s sale of commercial vehicle sales grew by 10.5 percent this year from a year ago level.

MMPC’s strong performance in the light commercial category can be attributed to the strong demand and wide market acceptance for the Montero Sport and Strada making them best sellers in the total mid-size SUV and total double cab pick up categories, respectively. Sales of the Montero Sport reached 6,408 units while 1,996 units of the Strada pick ups were sold in the first half for an increase of 3.7 percent and three percent respectively compared to the same period last year.

Locally manufactured models such as the Adventure and L300 also topped their particular segments. MMPC sold a total of 3,553 units of the Adventure while L300 sales reached 3,163 in the first half for a 14.5-percent and 8.5-percent increase respectively.