Despite global gloom, sales zoom

Vehicle sales for most auto manufacturers rose this September, allaying concerns of continuing downturn, volatile financial markets or the cascading effects of the March earthquake in Japan and even prompting major automakers to forecast stronger sales through the remainder of the year.

With the economy appearing to be stabilizing a little bit, customers who had been postponing buying new vehicles are now returning to showrooms to the delight of automakers.

Strongest month

Ford Philippines is riding high on a 57 percent increase (than same month last year) in sales when it sold 965 units.

Regarded by the company as its strongest month on record, its September performance enabled Ford Philippines to improve its sales by 30 percent from its August’s 741 sales mark.

Ford Philippines also closed the third quarter with 2,314 sold, representing a 23 percent increase over the same quarter in 2010 and almost certain to set a new annual record.

The company’s sleek-looking Fiesta remains its best-selling name plate with 2,638 units already released just a year after being launched in the local market.

Spark of inspiration

Another strong performer this September is Chevrolet Philippines’ diminutive Spark.

Sales of the stylish five-door hatchback reached 131 units, an all-time high since its launch in March.

According to Lyn Buena, Chevrolet Philippines-The Covenant Car Company Inc. marketing director, the introduction of an automatic variant of the Spark in August generated strong interest for the 1-liter car as this model not only promises to provide convenience in today’s stop-and-go traffic but also deliver fuel efficiency of as much as 22 kilometers per liter.

The Spark’s excellent performance has proved infectious for the rest of Chevrolet Philippines-TCCCI lineup as the company already sold 301 units, the highest sales the company achieved since taking over the brand in October 2009.

Premium performer

Also in the forefront is Asian Carmakers Corp. as the official importer and distributor of BMW vehicles registered a 30-percent increase in sales from the month of August to September alone.

With 560 vehicles already sold, BMW secured the 32-percent share in the country’s premium segment.

“This increase in year-to-date retail sales (compared to the same period in 2010) was powered by the strong performance of the X Series, 7 Series, 5 Series and the 1 Series,” said ACC president Maricar Parco in a press conference.

The 5 Series saw the biggest growth in its segment with a 39-percent increase in sales while the 1 Series achieved the largest growth at 94-percent increase in sales, thus capturing the 49-percent share in its segment.

Looking at the overall picture, ACC executive director for sales and marketing Glen Dasig said that sales of the premium luxury vehicles here rose by 8 percent (January to September) with 560 units sold adding that in its segment, BMW cornered a 32-percent share of the market.

Citing figures from BMW Global, he related that sales of the high-end vehicle brand breached the 1-million mark in the first nine months, selling 1,021 million units, or 14.5 percent more than the 892,000 units sold in the same period last year.

“In fact, BMW Global recorded its best ever sales for the month of September at 128,446 units, or a 9.3-percent hike from the same period the previous year,” he shared.

New models

Introducing new and exciting models also enabled Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. to close the first nine months of the year with a modest 1 percent growth in passenger car sales—from last year’s 7,153 units, the figure rose to 7,217.

“With the increasing demand for the Sonata as well as our new Accent and Elantra, Hyundai is strongly positioned to keep its growth in the passenger car segment,” said HARI president and CEO Maria Fe Perez-Agudo.

As of September, sales of the Accent grew by almost 1 percent, enabling it to get the 48-percent share of the country’s passenger sales and 23 percent of total sales.

The Elantra also demonstrated strong performance since its April 2011 introduction with 1,578 units sold—an average of 316 units a month—that represents 22 percent share of PC sales and 11 percent of total sales.

Likewise, sales of Sonata grew by 67 percent to 432 units, contributing 6 percent to PC sales and 3 percent to total sales.

On course for success

Abroad, it seems that China’s nouveau riche are so much attracted to European luxury badge they seem to be on a panic-buying mode. Demand for luxury cars in China, the world’s biggest market for vehicles, is growing at an unprecedented pace.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG isn’t complaining: with 2,146 deliveries (1,062 of which are Cayenne SUV), the German premium automaker more than doubled its September 2010 performance in its second most important market (in Europe, the company delivered 4,133 vehicles translating to an increase of 39.5 percent compared with the same month the previous year).

Between January and September of this year, Porsche delivered a total of 90,972 new cars to customers, or an increase of 30.9 percent compared with the same period in 2010.

In a statement, Bernhard Maier, Porsche AG Board of Management Member for Sales and Marketing, informed that the company is ahead of last year’s good figures in all markets and with over 90,000 sports cars sold as of September and is in fact, very close to its sales target of 100,000 units in 2011.

Best month

September also proved auspicious for Swedish premium brand Volvo after posting a 30.5 percent increase, the best month ever in Volvo cars’ sales history.

Driven by strong sales on a number of markets, total sales from January to September reached 333,865 cars, a 22.5-percent increase from the same period last year.

Sweden remained the top-selling market while Volvo Car Overseas Corp., which includes Volvo Philippines, also did very well as a whole with a growth of 49.6 percent.

China remained as its most important buyer, having more than doubled its September figure from 2010 to 4,765 cars, with the S60 luxury sedan and XC60 premium compact SUV as two of the most favorites.

As the world’s first commercially available vehicle that has the ability to stop by itself when encountering an obstacle in front, the XC60 remains Volvo’s bestselling model worldwide followed by the All-New S60, V60, XC90 and V50.

“Here in the Philippines, we are looking forward to an optimistic last quarter and an even more dynamic 2012 with the introduction of new models and variants that will make it possible for Volvo to compete in segments where the brand was not present before. Plans of expanding the network is also underway in our effort to share with the Philippine market the new breed of sleek, smart and strong Volvos,” shared Rose Dimalanta, Viking Cars Inc., Volvo brand’s authorized dealer and distributor in the Philippines.—With a report from Aby Ho