Hyundai Sales up by 18% in October

Performance and Drivers

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, saw its sales accelerate to 1,982 units for the month of October, reflecting solid growth of 18% year-on-year. To-date, sales reached a total of 19,675 units for the first 10 months of the year, up by 10% from the same period last year.

Hyundai’s positive sales pace was attributed by the strong showing from the Passenger Car category (PC). The category posted 33% percent gain in sales to 1,476 units. The double-digit growth in PC cars was propelled by Hyundai’s top selling models EON, i10 and Accent. Accent registered the highest sales in the category with a total of 667 units sold in October. From January to October, PC category marked 25% increase in sales to 13,799 units versus the 11,002 units sold during the same period last year.

Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) sales, however, declined by 12% versus its year-ago levels. The LCV category sold 506 units in October compared to the 576 units sold last October 2013. Sales for the Tucson swayed the over-all trend in the LCV category as the model managed to grow by 29% year-on-year.

Sales and Economic Outlook

The government still maintains an optimistic stand in achieving the 6.5% to 7.5% growth target by year-end on the back of strong economic fundamentals. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is seen suspending monetary tightening as inflation further eases to 4.3% in October, the lowest in six months. As key indicators remains supportive, consumer spending is expected to remain brisk.

As we close out 2014, automotive players continue to be bullish towards the Holiday season with companies offering various promos to hype sales further. With the industry surpassing 2013 full-year sales last month, it is projected to hit another record-breaking growth by year-end.