Hyundai to keep 25% sales growth target

MANILA, Philippines - The local distributor of Hyundai vehicles is keeping its 25 percent growth target for total sales next year.

HARI president and chief executive officer Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo told reporters during the launch of the new Sonata on Monday night the firm is set to introduce three new vehicle models next year to achieve a 25 percent growth in sales.

“We hope the new Hyundai Sonata will be able to wow our customers. This is just the beginning. By 2015, we will be offering the all-new Tucson, i25 and i20 crossover. With all those four models, I am sure we will be able to gain market share, gain more customer experience and bring it to the next level,” she said.

HARI aims to achieve a 25 percent growth in total sales next year from this year’s expected sales of around 23,000 units.

“(We see) flat growth in 2014 so we want to rebound from the past two years. In the past two years, we did not have much new models,” Agudo said.

As of end-October, HARI has sold a total of 19,675 units, up 10 percent from the 17,905 units sold in the same period in 2013.

Should total vehicle sales in the country hit 300,000 units next year, Agudo said HARI’s higher sales would translate to greater market share of 12 percent from the current 9.8 percent.

“We’re very positive we will have good response from the market with the four models that would be coming in,” Agudo said but noted that supply shortage would be a risk to achieve the sales target.

The Sonata, which is HARI’s entry into the luxury segment, is expected to be available in the last week of December and among the contributors to the firm’s sales next year.

The firm wants to sell an average of 30 to 50 units of the Sonata per month.

The new Sonata is priced at a range of P1.699 million to P1.8 million.

Apart from the new models, demand for the Accent, Eon and Starex is also expected to support the growth in sales next year.

As for the Association of Vehicle and Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID) which is also headed by Agudo, total sales are seen to grow by 12 percent this year from the previous year’s 31,399 units amid favorable economic conditions and competitive promotions.

The AVID has sold a total of 30,114 units in the January to October period of this year, 19 percent higher than the 25,374 units in 2013.

Agudo said that while AVID has yet to set its target for next year, she is hopeful the group would be able to sustain the momentum seen this year.