MANILA, Philippines – Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the country, posted stronger sales in the third quarter of the year but total vehicles sold in the first nine months remained slower compared to the previous year.
HARI said sales picked up 13 percent to 6,014 units in the July to September period from 5,325 units in the same period last year.
“With the holiday season fast approaching, Hyundai is strengthened to delight the Filipino market with unwavering customer service on top of a product line-up tailor fit to their changing lifestyle amid the heightened competition in the automotive arena,” said HARI president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.
Hari’s nine month sales, however, dipped six percent to 16,703 units from the 17,693 units sold a year earlier.
In the third quarter alone, sales of HARI’s passenger car category jumped 24 percent to 4,283 units from 3,458 units in the previous quarter.
Sales of light commercial vehicles, meanwhile, declined by seven percent to 1,731 units in the third.
Year-on-year, sales of passenger cars slipped three percent in the third quarter of 2015, while light commercial vehicles grew by seven percent.
“Philippines still remains as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, next to China and Vietnam, primarily owing to improved fiscal expenditure amid external headwinds,” HARI said.