Isuzu sales up 56%

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of Japan’s Isuzu Motors Ltd. drove its sales up 56 percent as of end-February from a year ago, supported by the strong demand for the mu-X sports utility vehicle model.

In a statement, Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) said total sales in the January to February period rose to 3,040 units this year compared to 1,949 units in the same period in 2014.

The firm attributed its sales performance to the strong demand for the mu-X model which sold 1,500 units in the first two months of the year.

Aside from mu-X, the Isuzu N-Series light duty trucks also supported the firm’s higher sales for the January to February period.

IPC sold a total of 538 units of the Isuzu N-Series light duty trucks as of end-February this year, up 37.9 percent from 390 units a year ago.

Meanwhile, sales of vehicle models such as the D-Max pickup and Crosswind Asian utility vehicle (AUV) posted declines in the two-month period.

Sales of the D-Max slid 15 percent to 488 units as of end-February this year compared to 575 units in the same period last year.

Crosswind sales also fell 47.4 percent to 470 units from the previous year’s 894 units.

IPC president Nobuo Izumina said the drop in sales of the D-Max and Crosswind for the two-month period was due to the fewer calendar days in February.

 “We expect better sales from our lineup, especially to our best-selling Isuzu Crosswind AUV,” he said.

For the month of February alone, IPC’s total sales climbed 75.5 percent to 1,813 units this year from 1,033 units in the same month in 2014.

Izumina remains upbeat the company’s overall sales will continue to pick up in the coming months given expectations of sustained economic growth.

 “With the continued strength of the Philippine economy, such performance could go on as 2015 progresses,” he said.

IPC is aiming to sell a total of 18,000 vehicles this year after selling 14,134 units in 2014.