ISUZU Philippines Corp. (IPC)—the local arm of Japanese truck maker Isuzu—continues to set a good pace in the local automotive business as it holds on to third position in industry sales for the commercial vehicle (CV) segment.
Based on the combined report released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association, IPC has sold 14,225 units from January to June this year, compared to 13,258 units delivered for the same period in 2016—reflecting a 7.3-percent increase in the company’s total sales.
The same data also showed that it placed third in the top-selling brands for the CV segment, month-to-date, after selling 3,097 units for June this year versus the 2,650 units sold in May, showing a 16.9-percent growth.
Showing strong performance in the LCV category is the Isuzu D-MAX pickup, whose sales for the first half of the year reached 2,292 units—a 20.8-percent boost from the 1,897 units and currently holds 12.6 percent of the market.
D-MAX sales still continue to rise after rolling out some 469 units in June 2017, as compared to the 435 units sold in May the same year, and took 13.4 percent of the total pick-up category.
Providing steady firepower was its latest best-selling flagship model, the Isuzu mu-X, whose sales climbed up to 6,453 units from January to June 2017, as compared to 6,297 units for the same duration in 2016, posting a 2.5-percent surge.
June sales for the mu-X reflected a 16.6-percent (1,453 units) addition from the 1,246 units sold in May.
Further, IPC continued to show strength in the trucks segment after posting an 18.2-percent increase in Category III for its NHK and NKR, which hold 50.3 percent of the market share. Moreover, sales for IPC’s Category IV vehicles have soared by up to 33.6 percent year-to-date.
IPC President Hajime Koso expressed confidence that IPC will continue an upward trend on sales, given the government’s target GDP increase of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent by year-end.
“We believe that as the year progresses, the buying power of Filipinos would also grow. This is also an indicator of the positive outlook Filipinos have based on sales trend in the automotive industry, which begins to grow drastically as it draws near to the final months of the year,” Koso explained.