Honda seeks to raise ’17 sales by 33%
Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) plans to increase its sales by more than 33 percent this year, to hold on to its current market share amid an increasingly competitive environment.
Louie C. Soriano, head of the HCPI administration division, told reporters that the company would pursue an “aggressive” strategy this year, following the launch of Honda’s “New City” Monday night, an improved version of the Japanese car company’s bestselling unit.
“What we are targeting is an [overall sales target of] 32,000 units. The last was around 24,000. We are going to be very aggressive this year. We have 13 model [cars] and all these models will drive this growth,” he said, referring to their current fiscal year that starts April 2017 and ends March 2018.
HCPI launched the New City Monday night, promising to keep the same suggested retail price of the previous City, ranging from around P700,00 to more than P1 million.
The Honda City—the lone model manufactured locally in the Honda factory in Sta. Rosa, Laguna—accounted for more than 30 percent of sales in the previous fiscal year, he said. Since the release of the fourth generation Honda City in April 2014, the model has sold 26,000 units.
He added that Honda was “open to that possibility of an additional model [to be locally manufactured] but as of now we are still studying the options.”
Soriano said Honda wanted to maintain the company’s current position in the market as the fourth largest automobile company in terms of sales volume.
This goal, however, may pose as a challenge given bigger rivals such as Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), both of whom are gearing up their production for the heavy volume requirement of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.
Based on joint data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), HCPI sold 8,813 units in the first four months of the year, placing behind TMP, MMPC, and Ford Motor Company Phils. Inc.
TMP, for its part, recorded the biggest market share of 43.32 percent after selling 53,440 units from January to April. MMPC accounted for 17.76 percent or 21,862 units, and Ford Motor sold 10,386 units with 8.44 percent market share. HCPI has a 7.16-percent share of the market.
