Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai cars and commercial vehicles in the Philippines, sold 2,539 vehicles in August 2019, a 19 percent month-on-month growth from the previous month’s 2,136 units.
Sales hit 22,329 units for the first eight months of the year, slightly below last year’s 22,511 vehicles sold. Despite this, HARI remains one of the top-selling automotive brands with strong sales coming from the Reina, Accent, Kona and H-100.
“Our sustained performance amid external challenges is a result of our never-ending effort to provide excellent after-sales services and premium products for Filipino motorists.
Challenges come and go but we go the extra for our customers who will never forget their positive experience with the Hyundai brand,” said Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, HARI president and chief executive officer.
The Tucson, Santa Fe and Starex are part of the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment.
Hyundai’s LCV segment grew 19 percent in the eight-month period to 9,864 in sales from 8,288 units sold over the same period in 2018.
In terms of growth, HARI said the stylish and powerful subcompact sport utility vehicle (SUV) Hyundai Kona leads the pack, increasing sales by 231 percent over the period.
Sales of passenger cars (PC) as of August reached 11,821 units, down 15 percent from the same period last year as the entire market continues to shift to SUVs, it said.
Nonetheless, sales of Hyundai PC models namely the Reina and Accent were sustained with sales reaching 11,500 units over the period, about half of the company’s total sales, HARI added.
Meanwhile, Hyundai’s CV segment more than doubled from last year’s sales of 288 units to 644 units this year, or 124 percent growth. HARI said the H350 and County elevated this segment’s year-to-date sales with combined sales of around 460 units. Sales of the HD78 medium truck grew by 244 percent over the period.
“Increased economic activity fueled by small and medium businesses helped grow the LCV and CV segments. We continue to establish strategic partnerships to empower businesses by solving mobility challenges such as ‘last mile logistics’,” Agudo said.