Isuzu aims to sell 14,000 units

MANILA, Philippines - Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) is aiming for record-high sales of more than 14,000 units next year as it banks on the market’s positive reception of the D-Max pickup.

“Next year, we are aiming for sales to reach more than 14,000 units,” IPC executive vice president Takashi Tomita told reporters yesterday.

He said Isuzu wants to attain the record sales goal next year as it expects sustained demand for the new D-Max pickup which was launched just last September.

“The D-Max is still very new to the market,” he said, adding that the firm expects to achieve sales of more than 4,000 units of the vehicle model next year.

IPC started production of the D-Max vehicles just this month, with the units sold earlier imported from Thailand.

By October next year, Tomita said, Isuzu hopes to be able to localize at least 20 to 25 percent of the content of the assembled IPC vehicles here.

While IPC has set its highest sales goal ever for next year, it cut its sales target for this year.

IPC earlier set its sales target at 13,000 units for this year, which if achieved would have been the highest sales for the firm in history.

“Because of (typhoon) Yolanda, customer sentiment is affected. This year, we expect sales to reach around 12,000 (units),” Tomita said.

The firm sold a total of 11,759 vehicles last year, 20 percent higher than in 2011.

As of end-October, its total sales reached 9,748 units, up slightly from the 9,595 units sold in the same period in 2012.

Tomita said that even as IPC sees the Philippine market for vehicles growing in the future, the firm does not support the government’s plan to provide incentives only to companies which are able to manufacture 40,000 units per model per year under the road map for the automotive industry.

“No one can realize that,” he said.

Instead, he said the government should look for ways to preserve jobs in the manufacturing sector by encouraging vehicle assemblers in the country to keep their operations here. – Louella Desiderio