Toyota, Ford hit record sales in May

Toyota Motor Philippines Co. and Ford Group Philippines hit record vehicle sales in May, driven largely by the steady increase in local demand.

In separate statements issued Friday, TMP said vehicle sales reached 9,132 units in May, up 47 percent from the same month last year, while sales of Ford vehicles grew 39 percent to 1,711 units.

On a year-to-date basis, TMP said it registered a 35-percent growth to 40,062 units in the first five months of the year.

“Having to reach more than 9,000 units in a single month is indeed a breakthrough performance by the company. Our continued thrust of satisfying our customers with the best products and services has indeed bore its fruit as revealed by the numbers,” said TMP president Michinobu Sugata.

“Coming from two consecutive months of an 8,000 unit sales level, it overwhelms me that our customers’ support to our brand has led to our record sales last month. Moreover, this is the very first time that any car brand has experienced such high level,” he added.

According to Sugata, Toyota expects this strong demand to “continue because of the positive economic outlook and the good reaction from the market with regards to our newly launched models such as the Corolla Altis, Yaris, Innova and the Wigo.”

According to TMP, the strong sales level recorded in May was due to the continued strong performance of Vios, touted as the company’s best-selling vehicle, whose recorded sales reached 2,080 units during the said month.

This performance, TMP added, was further strengthened by other top-selling Toyota models such as the mini hatchback Wigo, whose sales reached 926 units, up 18 percent compared to the previous month’s sales.

The Fortuner, for its part, registered a 47-percent increase in sales to 1,721 units, while the locally manufactured Innova, the all-new Corolla Altis and the Hilux continued to be the brand’s other top-selling vehicles that have contributed to last month’s sales milestone.

Meanwhile, Ford Philippines said sales in the first five months of the year rose 43 percent to 7,167 units.

According to Ford, the Ford Ranger saw its sales rise 31 percent to 586 units in May, bringing the total number to 2,686 units from January to May.

Ford’s all-new EcoSport sold 452 units in May, continuing to attract customers with a unique blend of versatility, fuel efficiency and smart technology in an SUV.

“The compact and versatile all-new EcoSport continues to be a hit among Filipinos, especially for parents with children who are gearing up for school opening this June,” said Kay Hart, managing director of Ford Philippines. “The Ford Ranger continues to impress with its rugged versatility and best-in-class performance. These two nameplates are clear examples of how we’re expanding our showrooms to serve more Filipino customers than ever before.”

Ford Philippines recently announced the addition of three new Wildtrak variants to its Ranger lineup, which are now available in all dealerships across the country.

Ford’s larger SUVs also contributed to the strong month, with sales of the Ford Everest reaching 300 units, and Ford Explorer, 83 units for the month of May.

For the first five months of the year, Ford sold 1,373 units of the Ford Everest, up 28 percent from a year earlier, and 491 units of the Explorer, up 42 percent from the same period in 2013.