Hyundai vehicle sales up 35% in first 4 months

Sales of Hyundai vehicles rose by 35 percent to 8,658 units in the first four months of 2012, from 6,419 units reported in the same period last year.

In a statement issued Monday, official distributor Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) said that for April alone, the company’s vehicle sales rose by 11 percent to 1,891 units from 1,707 sold in the same month last year.

“We begin the second quarter with a strong sales performance based on a sustained favorable business climate and positive consumer outlook. Our strong vehicle portfolio and the entry of new models coupled with aggressive brand building efforts will shore us up through the remainder of the year,” said HARI president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

Growth in the first four months can be attributed to the 113-percent surge in the sales of Hyundai passenger cars to 5,396 units this year from 2,534 units a year ago.

Models in the passenger car segment, such as the i10, Accent and Elantra, helped boost overall sales.

While passenger car models continued to drive up growth, there was a slowdown in the sale of light commercial vehicles (LCV) due to delayed arrival of shipments.

According to HARI, its LCV sales fell by 16 percent to 3,262 units in the first four months of the year from 3,885 units a year ago. For April alone, total LCV sales declined by 25 percent to 792 units from the 1,062 units it sold in the same period last year.

HARI said it was entering the second quarter of the year on a positive note with sustained optimistic consumer outlook.

It cited Nielsen’s Global Consumer Index, which stated that the Philippines was on the top 11 of the most optimistic countries in the world.