Hyundai Oct sales down, but Jan-Sept figures up

MANILA, Philippines - Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the local distributor of Hyundai vehicles, reported a nine percent drop in car sales in October from a year ago due to the delay in arrival of some vehicle models.

In a statement yesterday, HARI said it sold 1,662 units in October, down from 1,822 units in the same month last year.

HARI attributed the year-on-year decline in October sales to “delayed unit arrivals of some models.”

The delayed arrival of some models resulted in a slowdown in passenger car (PC) sales which reached 941 units in October, 25 percent lower than in the previous year.

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales meanwhile, went up 28 percent to 721 units from a year ago due to the timely arrival of Sante Fe vehicles.

While HARI’s sales fell year-on-year in October, cumulative sales for the January to October period grew 13 percent to 18,818 units this year from last year’s 16,705 units.

The rise in sales seen as of end-October was driven mainly by the PC segment.

PC sales in the 10-month period rose 37 percent to reach 11,593 units from last year.

“This positive performance was due to the impressive sales of the Accent and EON,” HARI said.

LCV sales as of end-October meanwhile, declined 12 percent to 7,225 units from a year ago.

Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, HARI president and chief executive officer said that as the economy is expected to remain strong and given the public’s positive reception of Hyundai vehicles, HARI expects the positive sales performance as of end-October to extend until the end of the year.

“The sustained bullish outlook of the Philippine economy along with the overwhelming raves and reception that our newly launched models received, including the accolade given our recently introduced all-new Santa Fe, augurs positive year-end sales for Hyundai in the Philippines,” she said.

The growth in remittances from Filipinos working overseas as well as improved confidence of consumers in the remaining months of the year are seen to help maintain the healthy pace of the economy.

Earlier, HARI said it intends to make Hyundai a top automotive brand in the country in 10 years.