Mitsubishi vehicle sales up 30%

MANILA, Philippines — Sales of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) went up 30 percent in December from the previous month, but were down on a year-on-year basis.

MMPC said in a statement retail sales posted a 30 percent increase to reach 4,195 units in December from the 3,221 units sold in November.

Driving MMPC’s sales performance in December was the Xpander multi-purpose vehicle with 1,472 units sold, 57 percent higher versus November’s sales.

The Montero Sport was the second biggest contributor to sales in December with 957 units sold.

Locally manufactured Mirage G4 was in third place with 911 units sold.

Also posting an increase in sales was the L300 which rose 30 percent to 478 units in December.

Sales of the Mitsubishi Pajero surged 147 percent to 47 units in December from the previous month.

“December was indeed a good month for Mitsubishi Motors. We are grateful for the continuous patronage of the public to our brand. The strong support from the market inspires us to work even harder to provide better products and service,” MMPC president and chief executive officer Mutsuhiro Oshikiri said.

While MMPC posted higher sales in December from November, the firm’s sales declined 30 percent compared to the 6,008 units sold in the same month in 2019.

Likewise, MMPC’s total sales in 2020 reached 37,366 units, 42 percent lower than the 64,065 units in 2019.

Demand for vehicles has been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Also last year, Taal Volcano’s eruption, which brought ash fall, also affected vehicle sales as automotive dealerships and manufacturing plants in South Luzon had to temporarily suspend operations.