Hyundai’s March sales up 18.7%

Sales of Hyundai vehicles in March jumped 18.7 percent from the previous month despite delays in stock arrivals, the Philippine importer and distributor of the South Korean carmaker reported Tuesday.

In a statement, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) said sales last month reached 2,030 units, up from February’s 1,710. Year-on-year sales, however, were 12.8-percent slower than the 2,327 vehicles sold in March last year.

Month-on-month, sales of Hyundai passenger cars went up 19.7 percent to 1,393.

“A strong finish to Elantra and Accent sales in March helped propel growth in the segment. Bouncing back from its steady decline, Elantra experienced 30-percent growth in March with sales of 112 units. Meanwhile, Accent posted a laudable 89-percent growth bringing its March sales tally to 600 units,” Hari said.

The volume of light commercial vehicles sold in March, meanwhile, rose 16.7 percent to 637.

“Both Hyundai’s premium models Grand Starex and Tucson notched up an impressive sales growth of 42 percent and 14 percent, respectively, compared to its February sales performance,” the company noted.

At the end of the first quarter, Hari’s sales inched up 0.54 percent to 5,983 units from 5,951 in the same three-month period last year. First-quarter sales of passenger cars grew 17.6 percent to 4,004, but those of Hyundai light commercial vehicles skidded 22.3 percent to 1,979.

Hari’s sales volume in the first quarter ranked third after Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.’s 22,828 units and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.’s 12,165 vehicles. The company sales, however, were not being reported by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), as Hari belongs to the rival Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc.

Hari is confident that sales would further pick up in the second quarter, according to its president and chief executive Maria Fe Perez-Agudo.  Ben O. de Vera