Surging passenger car sales drove Hyundai growth in 2012

HYUNDAI Asia Resources Inc. president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo expects Philippine economic fundamentals to remain strong and consumer outlook to remain favorable.

From January to November this year, passenger car (PC) models drove the sales growth of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., (HARI), the official Hyundai distributor in the Philippines, to 20,491 units, representing an 8-percent growth from 18,922 units sold  in the same year-ago period. PC sales rose by 27 percent from 9,913 to 12,631 this year. Hyundai’s best-selling models during the period were the Accent with 5,845 units sold, Elantra with 2,744 units sold and Eon with 2,336 units sold.

Although sales in November declined by 25 percent to 1,673 units compared to 2,217 units in the same month last year due to the delayed arrival of some models, particularly the LCVs (light commercial vehicles) like the Grand Starex, Tucson and Santa Fe), HARI managed to sustain an 8-percent growth from January to November 2012. There was never a month in 2012 when HARI sales fell below 1,000 units despite the delayed arrival of  shipments of popular LCV models.

In fact, in January this year, Hyundai sales soared by 40 percent to 2,153 units compared to the year-ago month.  In February, sales surged by 54 percent from 1,538 units in the same month last year to 2,369 units this year.  In March, sales increased by 37 percent, enabling HARI to close the first quarter with a 44-percent growth or a total of 6,767 units sold compared to 4,712 in the year-ago first quarter.

1ST SEMESTER. In April 2012, delayed shipment of LCVs caused a slowdown in sales growth to 11 percent or 1,099 units sold that month from 645 units sold in April 2011.  In May, Hyundai sales rose to 1,737 units followed by 2,356 units sold in June.  These led to a 23-percent growth in sales for the first semester as 12,751 units were sold from January to June compared to 10,355 in the first six months of 2011.

This July, HARI posted a 2-percent growth in total sales with 1,530 units sold compared to 1,497 in July 2011.  By August, Hyundai’s sales had grown by 19 percent to 15,735 units sold in the first eight months of the year compared to 13,271 units sold in the year-ago period.

In 2012, HARI launched the Eon mini subcompact and the all-new Santa Fe Storm Edge. HARI president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo expects to surpass this year’s sales growth in 2013 with, among other things, the intro of the diesel hatchback variant of the Accent, Hyundai’s best-selling PC model. Powered by a 1.6-liter CRDI (common rail direct injection) diesel engine with VGT (Variable Geometry Turbo) mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission, the Accent hatchback produces 128 HP at 4,000 rpm and a max torque of 260 Nm at 1,900-2,750 rpm.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE.  For Agudo, the biggest challenge HARI face d this year was achieving ultimate and constant customer delight “because consumer needs and wants change at an ever swifter pace and are becoming ever-more demanding.  With the vision of becoming the most trusted and beloved car brand and a lifetime partner of the Filipino, we, together with our dealerships, have shifted gears.  We are no longer just about pushing inventory, but about presenting a Hyundai car as a third ‘life space,’ after the home and the workplace.  This is best exemplified in Hyundai’s new global campaign, ‘Live Brilliant.’ I am so happy that several of our dealers have taken up this challenge with a brilliant and innovative spirit.”

Agudo is justifiably pleased that HARI rose to the second top-ranking slot in the Customer Sales Satisfaction Index, improved new vehicle sales and delivery process of the 2012 J.D. Power Asia-Pacific survey of the Philippine automotive industry. “We were just a point’s difference from the first,” she says. “We placed three notches above the industry average due to the better service experience of our customers.”

AGUDO and the other HARI bigwigs at the PIMS launch of the Eon

The HARI president was also glad to accept a plaque of recognition from Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon on behalf of HARI for being the Bureau’s ninth top importer, contributing P3.15 billion to the agency’s actual collection for the year 2011.  The award effectively squelched earlier rumors, perhaps circulated by competitors, that HARI was under-declaring the value of its imports.

TARGETS. To meet or exceed targets this year, Agudo says HARI continued to explore ways to increasingly make the customer experience at every dealership a brilliant one. They have also “reinvented” the classic Starex as the vehicle of choice for high-profile events by signing agreements to make the Starex the official mobility partner of the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting of the Board of Governors, held for the first time in Manila, and of the Miss World Philippines 2012.  Fifty units of the Grand Starex transported 4,000 delegates, finance and economic ministers and participants from 67 ADB member-countries to and from the Philippine International Convention Center and SMX Convention Center from May 2-5, 2012.

HYUNDAI brand ambassador Queneerich Rehman with HARI officials and professional drifters Atoy Llave and Gio Rodriguez at the Rizal Park launch of the Genesis Coupe.

Before the ADB meeting, HARI signed an agreement with Gawad Kalinga to support the building of the Hyundai Center for Green Innovations at the GK Center for Social Innovations in Angat, Bulacan.  HARI was also one of the corporate partners of the Philippine Pavilion constructed by the Department of Tourism at the Yeosu, Korea Expo that took place May-August 2012. To promote the sport of football among the youth, HARI donated to The Younghusband Football Academy (TYFA)  the Hyundai-TYFA sports van that brothers James and Phil designed to transport the Academy’s football gear and educational materials to the provinces, including young football enthusiasts to the football clinic venues.

Seeking to energize people’s interest in the sciences, HARI signed a Deed of Donation with the organizers of the Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, to sponsor the Atom Gallery, an area in the Museum with the most number of interactive exhibits. In addition, HARI sponsored the Hyundai POP (Pride of the Philippines) Art contest in which the 12 winners received a cash prize of P50,000 each plus Hyundai merchandise and the chance that their digital artworks would be featured in the 2013 Hyundai calendar or other Hyundai merchandise.

HARI FOUNDATION. Some of these agreements and donations were presented by Agudo and HARI chair emeritus Richard L. Lee at the 2nd Hyundai RUN for a Cause at the Quirino Grandstand, Luneta, on April 29. Agudo avers that HARI’s corporate social responsibility arm, HARI Foundation Inc., will step up in offering consumers and the community at large a wide range of opportunities to contribute to nation-building, which reflects Hyundai’s philosophy of good corporate citizenship.

Meanwhile, on March 29, the Elantra received the prestigious 2012 Car of the Year (COTY) Philippines award after winning the COTY awards in North America, Canada and South Africa.  To date, in its 11th year of operations in the Philippines as Hyundai Motor Company’s official distributor,   HARI  ranks third in sales volume in the auto industry, has 39 dealerships nationwide,  has won three times Hyundai’s Asia-Pacific Distributor of the Year award and won the Hyundai Global Distributor 2010 award.

Far from resting on these laurels, Agudo looks forward to continue working at becoming the Filipino’s lifetime partner in motoring and beyond.  While she admits that there will be persistent uncertainty in the global economic environment in 2013, she expects Philippine economic fundamentals to remain strong and consumer outlook to remain favorable. “These bode well for our business,” Agudo concludes. “Also, HARI hopes to see a more vibrant and healthier environment of competition and increased competitiveness for all players in the Philippine automotive industry. HARI is convinced that as long as the playing field is equal for all, it would boil down to happier consumers and thriving, vibrant businesses.”