The first quarter of 2018 (January, February, March) have been a tough challenge for the local automotive market due to the government’s new Tax Reform Law. But this didn’t hinder Hyundai Philippines’ momentum to show a still-notable performance in terms of passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales during the said months.
One such impact of the law is seen on the Korean carmaker’s total sales for the last 3 months. In all, it managed to post a total of 8,731 units. This is s scant 1.2% decrease vs. the 8,841 units sold in Q1 of last year. Despite this, the brand gained traction in terms of monthly sales as last March’s record saw a total of 3,179 units sold, a good 20% increase over last February’s 2,649 unit sales.
Leading the pace on the passenger cars segment is the Accent. That’s because this subcompact was sold 3,899 times over the last 3 months now. As for the light commercial vehicles, the brand’s best seller, the Grand Starex, took a blow as its Q1 total unit sales feat went down from 2,855 last year to 2,526 this year, a noticeable 11.5% decrease. However, the brand lamented that this drop could be attributed to the buyers’ anticipation for the soon-to-be-launched 2018 Hyundai Grand Starex later this year.
“Hyundai’s dynamism has shown no boundaries as it continues to beat the odds and hurdle any obstacles. First quarter sales remain firm and consistent with the trend in the industry, but we are expecting greater potential for the rest of the year. We are confident to continue this as we serve our customers with bolder, fiercer, unique and game-changing products and services,” said Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, President and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc., the exclusive distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines.
Photo by Hyundai Philippines
