Hyundai sales up 18% in Oct

MANILA, Philippines - The local distributor of Hyundai vehicles said its sales accelerated 18 percent year-on-year in October amid strong demand for passenger cars (PC).

In a statement, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) said it sold 1,982 units in October, up from 1,685 units in the same month last year.

The improvement in sales was driven by the performance of the PC segment, having sold 1,476 units last month, a 33 percent uptick from the 1,109 units last year.

The double-digit growth in Sedan sales was propelled by Hyundai’s top selling models EON, i10 and Accent.

Meanwhile, the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment’s sales declined by 12 percent to 506 units in October this year from the previous year’s 576 units.

For the first 10 months of the year, HARI sold a total 19,675 units, 10 percent higher than the 17,905 units in the same period in 2013.

The PC segment remained the growth driver in the increase in overall sales for the period with sales rising by 25 percent to 13,799 units from 11,002 units a year ago.

LCV sales, however, slid 15 percent to 5,876 units as of end-October this year from 6,903 units last year.

HARI has attributed the weak sales of LCVs to supply constraints, with the inventory unable to keep up with the strong demand for the vehicles in the segment.

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

As the holiday season is approaching, HARI is optimistic it would continue to improve its sales performance.

 “With the season of giving fast approaching, Hyundai is thrilled to offer our consumers exciting new offerings and value for money deals,” HARI president and chief executive officer Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.