Mitsubishi on track to hit 22% sales growth in PH this year

FOR SALE: Mitsubishi vehicles in Laguna —RICHARD A. REYES

The local unit of automotive giant Mitsubishi is set to grow its vehicle sales volume in the Philippines by 22 percent during the current fiscal year, auguring well for its aim to get a larger market share in the southeast Asian country, where it currently stands in second place.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) vice president for sales and marketing Cesar Ramirez Jr. told reporters last week that they have already sold 60,630 units so far this year with around three months left before the end of their fiscal year in March 2024.

“The [growth] driver for Mitsubishi is our [completely knocked-down] models, which are the L300 and the G4 (subcompact sedan) we locally produce,” Ramirez said, noting that this comprises 40 percent of their total sales volume.

For December, the Mitsubishi executive said they expect sales to dip slightly in pace with the slowdown in auto loans approved by banks and other similar financial institutions.

Loan quotas reached

“The banks, we also expect their approval rate to slightly go down because most of the banks have already reached their targets for the year. They also want to control the bookings in preparation for next year,” said Ramirez.

Further, he said that they are hoping to achieve a 19-percent market share by next year, which would mean about a 1-percent increase compared to their current standing.

In the Philippines, car sales continued to be led by the Philippine unit of Toyota, where it currently has a market share of around 46 percent.

According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association, sales of new vehicles in the country reached 38,128 units in October, 18.6 percent higher than the 32,146 units sold in the same month a year ago.

The trade association is targeting a 20-percent growth in the industry’s sales volume this year, which will be equivalent to 423,000 units sold during the entirety of 2023. INQ