Mitsubishi sales accelerate in February

MANILA, Philippines — Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) sold vehicles at a faster 44 percent pace in February compared to the prior month but still lagged by nine percent against sales in the same month a year ago.

In a statement, MMPC said it sold 5,072 units in February, higher than the 3,518 units sold in January.

The seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle Xpander accounted for bulk of MMPC sales with 2,003 units, up 70 percent.

Meanwhile, the Mirage G4 posted the biggest growth in month-on-month sales at 94 percent with 1,078 units sold in February.

The locally made L300 also helped drive the sales performance in February with 947 units sold.

Other vehicle models that contributed to MMPC’s sales performance in February are the Montero Sport, Strada, Mirage and Outlander PHEV.

While MMPC saw sales increase month-on-month, sales were down nine percent in February compared to the 5,579 units sold last year.

For the January to February period, MMPC sales reached 8,590 units, 19 percent lower year-on-year.

MMPC president and chief executive officer Mutsuhiro Oshikiri said the month-on-month growth in sales is a good sign not just for the company, but for the industry as well.

Demand for vehicles has been weakened considerably by the pandemic.

The automotive industry is also monitoring how the demand would be affected by the provisional safeguard duties imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry on passenger car and light commercial vehicle imports.

“We truly appreciate the strong patronage of the market towards the Mitsubishi Motors brand. We are on high spirits with this current attainment and we aim to remain committed to provide the best products and service to our customers,” Oshikiri said.