Toyota sustains hot streak, sales up 33% from previous year

THE TOYOTA Fleet of new models on display at the Clark Motor Speedway

The streak continues for the country’s No. 1 automotive firm.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has recently posted a 33-percent increase in sales for the first four months of the year, compared to the same period last year.

According to the latest Campi  (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturer of the Philippines Inc.) report, in all, TMP sold a total of 23, 395 units on the said period, racking up a 41.3-percent share of the market.

Just in April alone, TMP registered a total sale of 6,334 units, maintaining its lead in both the passenger car segment and commercial vehicle category by selling 1,990 units and 4,344 units respectively.

“TMP experienced positive sales across the board, seeing continued strength with our locally manufactured Vios leading the charge,” said Michinobu Sugata, the president of Toyota Motor Philippines. “2013 is forecasted to be another record breaking year as reflected in the performance of the industry in the first four months of the year.  We can expect this trend to continue as the Philippines shows growth in its economy and specifically the automotive industry.”

As reported by Inquirer’s Doris Dumlao last Monday, Toyota Motor Philippines  is looking to get a big boost from the rise of the domestic economy as per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is seen to hit $3,000 in the next few years, citing a boost in GDP often has a positive effect on the demand for vehicles as experienced in other emerging markets. Based on the latest government data, Philippine per capita GDP stood at $2,613 as of end-2012 at current prices.

Toyota’s current lineup shows that several of its models occupy the leading position in terms of vehicle sales in their respective categories with the Toyota Vios continuing to be the top-selling vehicle in the country with 1,476 units sold for the month of April. The Toyota Innova, on the other hand, maintains its lead as the top multipurpose vehicle model with a sales figure of 1,245 units. Its strong customer loyalty in the brand owes its thanks to its higher resale value and its policy of maintaining original-parts supply for vehicle models that have been long discontinued.