Performance and Drivers
Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, ended 2014 on a positive note as sales accelerated to 23,019 units, up by 4% from 2013 total sales of 22,033 units. However, December sales proved to be a disappointment as sales contracted by 33% to 1,614 units compared to December 2013 sales of 2,416 units.
For the month of December, slowdown was seen in both Passenger Car (PC) category and Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) category. The PC category reported 28% decline in sales to 1,155 units in December. Despite the category’s slow growth in December, PC category finished the year strong with 17% growth in sales to 16,117 units from 2013 sales of 13,774 units.
Sales for the LCV category posted a decline of 44% in December to 459 units. Weak December sales brought total LCV sales tally to 6,902 units in 2014, down by 16% compared to 2013 sales of 8,259 units.
Sales and Economic Outlook
The Philippine economy posted a lower-than-expected growth of 5.3% for the third quarter of 2014. Although hitting the low end GDP target which is 6.5% would be difficult to hit, investors continue to express high hopes in the “Asia’s New Tiger”. Buoyed by the robust macroeconomic fundamentals, efficient financial management and rising revenue collections, the Philippine economy bodes well for 2015 and will retain its target of 7-8%.
Coupled with the economic prevalent strength, trend in vehicle demand is seen to be very positive fuelled by optimistic business and consumer sentiments.