Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, sold a total of 8,731 units for the first three months of 2018, slowing down by a mere 1.2 percent relative to the 8,841 sold in the same period of 2017. The country's third leading automotive brand's Q1 performance was capped off by a 3,179-unit output for the month of March, or an increment of 20 percent from February sales of 2,649 units. If this is any indication, Hyundai is very well on its way to gaining the momentum moving forward from the short-term effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law on consumer sentiment and purchase behavior.
With the recent developments, the Passenger Car (PC) segment emerges as a key driver in the auto industry being relatively less impacted by the TRAIN law. Hyundai maintained its strong presence in the PC segment by growing 3.7 percent for the first quarter of 2018. With a total of 6,205 units sold, the PC segment contributed to more than two-thirds of Hyundai's January–March 2018 sales. The Hyundai Accent leads the pack, accounting for over half of total HARI PC sales, or 3,899 units sold for this period.
For the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) segment, first quarter sales slid by 11.5 percent, from 2,855 units in 2017 to 2,526 units in 2018. This could be attributed to slower pick up for the Hyundai Starex and Hyundai Santa Fe due to customer anticipation for newer model releases latter in 2018.
“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 HARI President and CEO Maria Fe Perez-Agudo.
