Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) continues its growth with a 54 percent increase in the first four months as it reached 6,369 units compared to the 4,154 units in the same period last year – in spite of a 25 percent decline in April.

In a joint report released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers’ of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers’ Association Inc. (TMA), it showed that in April IPC sold 1,439 units or 32.5% higher than the 1,086 units in April 2014. However, on a monthly basis April failed to maintain the 1,917 units in March posting a 24.9 percent decrease with only 1,439 units.
Despite that, the company still manages to achieve a year to date growth of 54 percent which is due to the outstanding sales of its SUV model. With a total of 2,971 units at the end of April, the Isuzu mu-X now claims to be the bestselling model in IPC’s LCV line-up.

Another major contributor to this remarkable increase is the robust sales of its Category V trucks and buses which from 7 units in January-April last year to 28 units this year. This improvement can be attributed to the left and right infrastructure projects coming both from the public and private sector, increasing the purchase of heavy trucks used as payload by contractors.

Likewise, the light and medium-duty trucks enjoins this trend recording a 36 percent increase or 908 units for the Category III and 53 percent increase or 334 units for the Category IV trucks and buses; coming from 668 (Category III) and 219 (Category IV) units last year.

“Our SUV and truck sales are what give us the advantage in the first four months of the year. We are continuously putting effort to make sure that our supply will be able to meet the demand specially for these two segments.” said IPC President Hajime Koso.

However, the same cannot be said for the Crosswind AUV as it only managed to sell 1,230 units from January - April falling short of the 1,810 units in the same period in 2014. Noticeably, Crosswind’s first two months was sluggish but the model was able to recover in March with the introduction of its 2015 edition.

The D-MAX also can’t keep up with the phase specially when the competitors started introducing the latest models of their pick-up. The D-MAX only sold a total of 925 units compared to the 1,292 units last year or a negative 28.4 percent growth. With the introduction of its 2015 model, IPC is hopeful that it will be able to gain in sales in the following months.

“Generally April is a slow month not just IPC but for the industry. Looking at the bigger picture our sales are more than 50-percent compared to 2014 – which is a great achievement.” says Koso “With the rate we are going, it is not far that we will reach the 18,000-unit target even earlier than scheduled.” added Koso.