Mitsubishi car sales up 22%

Sales of the local unit of Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) grew by more than a fifth in the first quarter compared to a year ago due to the strong demand for its vehicle lineup.

In a statement yesterday, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, Corp. (MMPC) said its sales rose 22 percent to 12,165 units in the first quarter this year from the 10,016 units sold in the comparable period in 2013.

The firm’s passenger car sales went up 37 percent with 2,975 units sold in the threemonth period from 2,172 units sold during the same period last year.

MMPC’s light commercial vehicle sales which reached 8,824 units as of end-March, climbed 14 percent from the 7,715 units sold in the same period in the previous year.

Strong demand for the company’s trucks and buses was also seen as truck sales jumped 189 percent year- on- year to 358 units in the first quarter, while sales of buses posted a 60-percent increase from the same period last year.

For March alone, MMPC sold 4,345 units, up by a fifth from the 3,612 units sold in the same month a year ago.

“We are very pleased with the result of our first quarter performance which is aligned to the industry’s growth,” MMPC vice president for marketing services Froilan Dytianquin said.

Combined sales of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMAI) reached 51,643 units in the first quarter, 23 percent higher than the 42,034 units sold in the same three-month period a year ago.

“With our first quarter performance, I would say that we are on track of our sales objective for the year of selling more than 50,000 units.

With our extensive product lineup and with the upgrades that we are about to release to some of our core models, we are confident that selling more than 50,000 units for the year is highly achievable,” he added.

As part of its mid-term plan to expand sales and production capacity until 2016, MMPC acquired the 21-hectare manufacturing plant of the local unit of Ford Motor Co. in Sta. Rosa in Laguna last month.

“The acquisition of the Sta. Rosa factory will further strengthen our assembly operations, utilizing heavy stamping machines, advanced equipment and facilities engineering that will support MMC’s business objectives for the new mid-term business plan,” MMPC president and chief executive officer Hikosaburo Shibata said.

The plant was previously used by Ford for vehicle assembly until it was closed in 2012 due to weak local demand and small supply base for vehicles.

MMPC intends to relocate at the newly acquired plant and start vehicle production by January 2015.

At present, MMPC assembles the L300, Adventure and Lancer EX at its 18- hectare plant which has an annual capacity of 30,000 units, in Cainta, Rizal.