TOP 10 3RD QUARTER 2019 PERFORMERS BASED ON VEHICLE SALES

Seventh-ranked Honda’s market share decreased to 5.2 percent (14,848 units sold) market share, from 6.3 percent (17,423 units sold).

Eighth-ranked Isuzu, which earned 4.4 percent (12,113 units sold) market share YTD 2018, slipped to 3.6 percent (10,178 units sold) YTD 2019.

KIA’S POWER TO SURPRISE Meanwhile, Kia proved that it has the power to surprise.

In 2018, when the distributor of Kia cars was Columbian Autocar Corp., sales sank 58 percent to 2,238 units, from 5,186 the previous year.

This year, the Korean brand, which had been acquired by the Ayala Group in January, surprised the industry by breaking into the Top Ten Sales Performers circle.

Kia, distributed by Ayala’s Adventure Cycle Philippines, Inc., scored ninth place by posting 2,908 total vehicle sales from January to July.

In the YTD September 2019 period, Kia further increased its sales to 3,719 units.

It was an impressively executed turnaround of the Kia brand that should encourage other brands currently sustaining dismal sales. CHALLENGED

The scuttlebutt is that frontliner Toyota Motor PH Corp. (TMP) has pegged its sales target at 165,000 units for this year, after scoring 153,000 unit sales last year.

According to the CAMPI YTD September 2019 report, TMP sold 114,117 units, up by 4 percent from the same period in 2018.

However, TMP president Satoru Suzuki is reportedly not optimistic about achieving the sales target, although he has been quoted as saying “we are now challenged to achieve it.”

With less than three months left to hit its target, TMP has to sell 51,000 units, which is indeed a big challenge.

Hopefully, the urge to splurge on big ticket items during the holiday season will finally fast-track the fragile recovery of the auto industry.