Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, said automotive sales in January rose 3 percent to 2,903 units from 2,817 units in the same month in 2017.
Hari president and chief executive Ma. Fe Perez Agudo said the January sales could be considered quite a feat considering it is the initial month when automotive taxes were restructured to accommodate higher excise tax.
“January’s performance provides a jumpstart to 2018. Though faced with a tougher business landscape, we expect this year to bring us on higher grounds as we continue to level up our commitment in providing the best products and services to our customers,” she said.
The passenger cars segment sold 2,036 units in January, down 8 percent from 2,223 units sold in the same month in 2017. While Accent and Eon still hold the largest share of the company’s passenger cars segment, Elantra substantially grew by 113 percent with unit sales of 219 in January from 103 units a year ago.
Meanwhile, the light commercial vehicles segment drove the growth for Hyundai’s January sales. Sales from the segment rose 46 percent to 867 units in January from 594 units sold a year earlier.