Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) reports that its Q1 2019 (First Quarter 2019) sales grew 12.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The official distributor of Hyundai passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the country reported sales of 9,949 units, up from 8,847 units in 2018.

For March 2019 alone, HARI sold 3,412 units or a 6 percent increase from March 2018.

Hyundai’s passenger car (PC) segment sold 5,404 units for the first quarter. This is down 12.9 percent compared to 2018 and is attributed to the phase out of models such as the Eon. Having said that, net sales of models actually grew 22 percent driven by the Accent and Reina. The latter is already contributing to nearly 16 percent of Hyundai’s total first quarter sales, selling 1,576 units.

Meanwhile, the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment continues to be the bright spot for Hyundai increasing sales by 70.5 percent or 4,306 units from January to March of this year compared to 2,526 units during the same period in 2018. A large portion of this growth can be attributed to strong demand for the Kona, which now accounts for 24 percent of HARI’s LCV business and the versatile H-100 which contributes 44 percent.

The Kona’s year-to-date performance is very impressive enabling them to overtake the Ford EcoSport as the best-selling sub-compact 5-seater SUV. Hyundai has recorded 1,043-unit sales from January to March 2019 compared to just 533 units for Ford.

As for Hyundai’s Trucks and Buses, the build up of economic activity means sales has grown 106 percent in 2019 versus 2018. Moving forward, HARI will continue to invest in expanding their Truck and Bus network by adding 7 more dedicated Commercial Vehicle dealerships on top of the 6 fully operational ones in the coming months.

“HARI sustained its growth momentum in the first quarter driven by the successful introduction of
fresh and innovative models such as the Reina at the start of the year and a more positive buying
sentiment from consumers. We are well-poised to continue this upward trend over the next three
quarters as we recently unveiled pioneering vehicles at the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS),”
HARI President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

During MIAS, Hyundai showcased two full electric vehicles, the Ioniq EV and Kona EV, as well as the flagship Palisade SUV.