Vios, Innova push Toyota sales to PH record

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has hit a new record in July, as vehicle sales surged by 65 percent to 10,123 units during the month due to a strong demand for the Vios and Innova models.

Breaching the 10,000-unit mark on a monthly sales basis was not only a first for TMP, but for the whole local automotive industry as well, the company said in a statement issued Wednesday.

“Achieving more than 10,000 units in a single month is indeed a leap forward coming from a 9,000 unit sales level last May. We see this feat as another motivation to our team to constantly find ways in serving our customers and partners even better,” said TMP president Michinobu Sugata.

The record sales in July has brought TMP’s total vehicle sales for the first seven months of the year to 58,635 units, up 43 percent compared to the same period last year.

According to TMP, its robust sales performance in July was “again made possible because of the continued strong performances of its best-selling vehicle in the country, the Vios and the Filipino favorite, the Innova.”

“With recorded sales last month of 2,480 units and 1,614 units (of the Vios and Innova) respectively, these locally manufactured Toyota models recorded their highest sales since it was first introduced in the Philippine market. Last month’s performance was further strengthened by other top-selling Toyota models such as the mini hatchback Wigo recording [sales of] 935 units, the Hi-Ace utility van registering 1,280 units and the Fortuner SUV at 1,350 units,” TMP explained.

For this year, TMP expects total vehicle sales to hit 100,000 units, up from the initial target of 90,000 units. This would mean a more than 30-percent growth in vehicle sales for TMP this year, from the 75,587 units sold in 2013.

“We are reviewing our sales target but we can already see a possibility of almost 100,000 units, depending on our supply availability. Of course, we see the steady economic growth of the Philippines as the major driver,” Sugata said in an earlier interview with the Inquirer.

The expected increase in sales this year is also expected to be driven by “some product changes on the existing Toyota lineup” and new products to be added to the Lexus lineup, which are currently not available in the country, he had earlier disclosed.

TMP had also ramped up its capital investments this year to as much as P700 million to boost the capacity of its manufacturing plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and to prepare for the government’s issuance of new strategic policies for the local automotive industry. Amy R. Remo