Elantra drives Hyundai's PH sales in September

MANILA, Philippines – Sales of Hyundai vehicles in the country jumped 6% in September, according to its Philippine distributor.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) in a statement said it sold 1,507 units in September, up 6% from 1,421 it sold a year ago.

Hyundai's sales were driven by 2012 Philippine Car of the Year Elantra, which saw an 88% increase in September.

The Eon maintained its recent growth streak with an increase of 61% while Accent saw a 35% increase.

Hyundai’s passenger car lineup grew 44% against the same period last year, offsetting the 32% drop in sales of its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment.

With the uptick, HARI believes it is on track to meet its targets before the year ends, saying it is only 5% off its mark a year ago through the first nine months of 2013.

HARI remains optimistic that the holiday season will bring higher sales.

"With the season of giving fast approaching, the Hyundai family is thrilled to continue providing Filipinos exciting and compelling offerings to share with the family this blessed season,” said Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, HARI president and CEO.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hyundai projects PH sales at 22,000 units

MANILA, Philippines - The local distributor of South Korea’s Hyundai vehicles expects its total sales this year to just match last year’s sales which reached almost 22,000 units as supply issues remain, an official said.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) president and chief executive officer Fe Perez-Agudo told reporters at the sidelines of the Hyundai New Thinkers Summit Kick Off Event yesterday the firm aims for total vehicle sales of 22,000 units this year.

“We are still hopeful we will achieve that target,” she said.

In 2012, HARI sold a total of 21,996 vehicles.

As of end-September, Agudo said Hyundai’s sales were down four percent from the 17,156 units in the same period last year.

Sales for this year are seen to be almost at the same level as last year’s as vehicle supply is not able to keep up with demand.

Hyundai vehicles sold here are imported from South Korea.

“The supply constraint continues. It has been here for the last two years. The demand continues too,” Agudo said.

She admitted that Hyundai is able to supply only 70 to 80 percent of the requirement at the moment.

Amid supply problems in almost all vehicle models sold here, except for the Eon, HARI has already stopped accepting reservations.

But while supply problems persist, Agudo assured it would not affect preparations for the introduction of upgrades to its vehicle models.

“Definitely (in) the first quarter of 2014, we will have some upgrade (to) models that we will launch in the Philippine market. Tucson will have an upgrade, the Elantra, Accent, most of our models,” she said.

HARI’s supply issues, however, may have an impact on the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc.’s (AVID) total sales for the year.

“The AVID may also have flat growth, but definitely not negative because the rest of the members are also positive in their sales,” Agudo said noting that HARI accounts for the bulk of the group’s sales.

AVID sold a total of 28,400 units in 2012.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com