Local Hyundai sales sustained growth in July

Sales of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines sustained growth so far this year with the July volume expanding by 6 percent year-on-year.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) said Wednesday that, thanks to strong demand for its subcompact cars, the company sold a total of 1,952 vehicles last month. This brought Hari’s turnover for the seven months to July to 13,603 units, also a 6-percent increase.

Aside from subcompact passenger cars like the Eon and the i10, Hari also offers bigger cars as well as light commercial vehicles (LCVs) like passenger vans, sports utility vehicles and utility trucks.

“As Hyundai sales cruised through another month on a positive note, Hari is expected to maintain its solid pace for the remainder of the year buoyed by strong growth in the economy fueled by robust household consumption,” company president and chief executive Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said in a statement.

In July, Hari recorded a 33-percent surge in passenger car sales to a total of 1,411 units. Seven-month growth was pegged at 22 percent, with the volume reaching 9,307 units.

Subcompact cars alone accounted for 95 percent of passenger car sales in July and 69 percent of overall sales for the first seven months.

For the January-July period, subcompact cars represented 92 percent of passenger cars that Hari sold and 63 percent of total sales.

The company said sales growth in July was buoyed by the performance of the Eon and the Accent, sales of which reached 191 percent and 69 units, respectively.

According to Hyundai’s Philippine website, the Eon—the brand’s smallest and lowest-priced vehicle available in the country—is priced at P438,000 while the Accent is tagged at P618,000.

On the other hand, sales of LCVs remained in the red, down 31 percent in July and 18 percent in the seven months. During those periods, LCV sales declined to 541 units and 4,296 units.