Montero Sport and Strada continue to be bestsellers
The Philippine auto industry closed the month of February with a significant growth of 28.7% compared to January. Sales for February totaled to 10,681 units while only 8,296 units were sold in January. However combined reports from Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed a year to date decline of 15.7% versus the same period last year. This decline can be still be attributed to the supply disruptions experienced by manufacturers/distributors from completely built up units as well as CKD parts coming from Thailand, and also the depletion and phase-in of old to newer models.
Montero Sport GTV 2012
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) also managed to register double digit growth of 19% in February compared to January 2012. Year to date sales also accounted for a modest growth of 1.5% while most players in the industry posted a decline in their year to date figures. For February, MMPC sold a total of 2,751 units and year to date sales totaled to 5,062 units.
MMPC also recorded strong and improved sales on most of the industry segments. Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) increased by 19.1% with 2,591 units sold capturing a 35.4% market share. During the same period last year, LCV increased by 5.1%. MMPC credits its robust performance particularly in the LCV segment to the Montero Sport and Strada which continuously dominate its categories. Sales of Montero Sport are 25.63% better than January sales with 951 units sold making it the bestselling Midsize SUV. The Strada also dominated the double cab pick-up segment with 446 units sold accounting for an increase of 31.2%. Locally manufactured L300 and Adventure also increased by 8% and 3.6% respectively. Being practical and dependable LCVs these two models are very much appealing and ideal to small and growing businesses. Fuso trucks also improved by 40% compared to January sales.
Mitsubishi Strada GLS Sport
Aside from the extensive vehicle lineup, MMPC credits its sales feat to its aggressive promotions offering flexible plans fit for the budget. During the start of the year, MMPC launched the Dragon Deals promo and now there is an ongoing promo which is the Summer Business Booster offering affordable deals and great freebies.
With the improving demand and recovering supply especially from Thailand, combined with the aggressiveness of financing and bank partners, MMPC is optimistic that sales will continue to surge for 2012. “To support this growth, MMPC will be banking on the new model and variants to be introduced as well as opening of additional dealership outlets for this year.”, Mr. Hikosaburo Shibata, MMPC President and CEO said.
More News: Safety Recall Campaign for Mitsubishi Fuzion…
Safety Recall Campaign for Mitsubishi Fuzion
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) recently announced to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that it will have a special safety recall of the Mitsubishi Fuzion model sold from June 2007 to February 2012.
The safety recall is to inspect and replace (if needed) the steering column intermediate shaft. MMPC was informed that some batches of steering column intermediate shafts produced between 2007 to 2012 were suspected to have insufficient welding that may result to failure. The inspection and replacement procedure is estimated to take one and a half hours at the most.
Although there has been no reported occurrence of failures on the steering column, MMPC was directed by its principal, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Japan to conduct the safety recall. MMPC also informed the Office of Secretary Gregory Domingo of DTI of this recall campaign.
Mr. Hikosaburo Shibata, President and CEO of MMPC said that MMPC has already mobilized its Customer Relations Department to trace the units from its customer database. He said that all the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines service centers nationwide have been alerted to conduct the inspection and do the necessary repairs on all affected units.
MMPC will be issuing out the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) of the 2,137 units of Fuzion vehicles potentially affected by this campaign. The VIN list will be published in our website at www.mitsubishi-motors.com.ph. For additional concerns and inquiries, customers can get in touch with MMPC Customer Care Center at telephone number (+632) 658 – 0673 Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.
