MANILA, Philippines – Sales of Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) grew 9.5 percent in the January to April period compared to the previous year, given the strong demand for the D-Max pickup and trucks.
According to IPC, it sold 4,154 vehicles in the first four months of the year, up from the 3,793 units sold during the same period in 2013.
The higher sales for the four month period was supported by the performance of the D-Max pickup.
As of end-April, the firm’s sales of the D-Max jumped 78.7 percent to 1,292 units from just 723 units in the comparable period last year.
IPC’s trucks also helped drive sales higher for the period.
For the January to April period, the company’s sales of medium-duty Category IV trucks reached a total of 219 units, an 11.2 percent increase from the 197 units sold during the same period last year.
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Sales of the N-Series for the four month period, meanwhile, rose 37.2 percent year-on-year to 668 units.
“The upward trend in the movement of Isuzu’s trucks confirms that entrepreneurs, companies with vehicle fleets and other businesses continuously patronize these models,” IPC president Nobuo Izumina said.
“Clearly, Isuzu trucks’ reputed competence at serving a variety of purposes is recognized and is required by the market. Our efforts to directly reach out to our customers, like during the recent Truck Fest event held in Clark, Pampanga, where many of the guests were company owners, certainly impacted IPC’s growth,” he added.
For the month of April, IPC’s sales climbed 2.5 percent to 1,086 units from 1,059 units in the same month in 2013.
For the rest of the year, IPC expects sales to continue to grow.
“Overall, Isuzu Philippines is in a strong position to continue its upward trajectory for the rest of the year. This optimism is based on the Philippine economy’s impressive state at present, something that is recognized by global institutions like Fitch Ratings and, more recently, Standard and Poor’s, which had raised the country’s investment grade.
Improved investor confidence will eventually stimulate consumer spending, and retail sales, including those from the automotive sector, are seen to rise along with this,” Izumina said.
IPC intends to sell a total of 15,000 units this year.
Last year, its total sales reached 11,793 vehicles, slightly higher than the 11,759 vehicle sales in 2012.
