Hyundai vehicle sales up 44%

Sales of Hyundai vehicles surged by 44 percent to 6,767 units in the first quarter of 2012, from only 4,712 units sold in the same period last year.

In a statement, official distributor Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) said its first-quarter performance was boosted by the strong sales of its passenger car models such as the i10, Accent and the Elantra. These models in particular fueled the 127-percent sales growth that this segment registered in the first three months of the year. Sales of Hyundai passenger cars during the period hit 4,297 units.

New passenger car and commercial vehicle models, referring to those that have been in the market for only a year or less, also made significant contribution to Hyundai’s first-quarter performance.

“As the Philippine economic landscape continues to move from good to great, so does consumer confidence and Hyundai’s outstanding sales performance for the first quarter. We are optimistic that this trend will extend through the second quarter, with the Elantra making waves as Car of the Year for 2012, the launch of the new Hyundai EON and our consistent brand promotion efforts,” said Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, president and CEO of HARI.

For March alone, vehicle sales rose by 37 percent to 2,245 units from 1,633 units in the same month last year. The increase was led by the 159-percent surge in the sales of passenger cars to 1,316 units from only 509 sold in March 2011.

Light commercial vehicle sales for March, however, fell by 17 percent to 929 units from 1,124 units in March 2011.

HARI cited a number of indicators to support its optimistic outlook for the year, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Consumer Expectations Survey, which showed that Filipino consumer demand was expected to remain strong. Respondents to this survey perceived the first three months and the coming quarters as a “favorable time” for purchasing consumer durable products.

“Other key influences that underpin a more positive outlook are availability of jobs, increases in salary, good governance policies, steady investment inflows, appreciation of the peso and remittances from overseas workers,” HARI said.