Hyundai sales up 12% in June

MANILA, Philippines - Sales of the local distributor of Hyundai vehicles rose 12 percent in June from a year ago supported by the positive performance of the passenger car (PC) segment.

According to Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) it sold 1,928 units in June, up from 1,726 units in the same month last year.

The higher sales were seen as the PC segment grew 28 percent to have 1,349 units sold in June compared to 1,051 units a year ago.

Driving the increase in the PC segment was the strong demand for the Eon and Accent vehicle models.

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales meanwhile, declined by 14 percent to 579 units in June from 675 units last year amid supply constraints.

For the January to June period, HARI’s sales posted a six percent uptick to 11,651 units from 10,992 units in the comparable period in 2013.

PC sales rose 21 percent to 7,896 units in the first-half from 6,546 units in the comparable period last year.

On the other hand, sales of the LCV segment dropped 16 percent to 3,755 units as of end-June from 4,446 units in the same period in the previous year.

The firm is upbeat it would continue to see positive sales performance in the coming months.

“Despite a slower economic growth outlook this year, Hyundai is poised to take its steady sales track in full swing for the remainder of the year on the strength of our customer experience standards and modern premium products and services,” HARI president and chief executive officer Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

HARI expects total sales this year to post “flat growth” from 2013’s 22,033 units.

For next year, the firm expects sales to grow by as much as 25 percent as new Hyundai vehicle models are introduced in the market and as it recovers from supply issues.

All Hyundai vehicles sold in the country are imported from South Korea.