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MITSUBISHI Motors Philippines Corp. expects the
excellent sales of its sport utility vehicle line to boost the
company’s growth this year.
“Mitsubishi is known for its
SUVs,” said Froilan Dytianquin, Mitsubishi Philippines assistant
vice president for marketing services, adding that the car
company’s SUVs, from compact to full-size models, sell well.
The Japanese carmaker’s SUV
sales in the country grew by around 60 percent in the first half of
this year compared to same period last year, he said.
Dytianquin said the whole
Philippine automotive industry felt an SUV sales surge, especially
of models with engines running on low-priced diesel.
Mitsubishi Philippines, on the
whole, targets total auto sales of 18,000 to 20,000 units this year,
Dytianquin said.
It has sold 9,868 units for the
first seven months of this year, latest data from the Chamber of
Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) shows,
with 9,007 units or 91.27 percent of the seven-month volume coming
from sales of commercial vehicles, which include SUVs.
While the company ranks a strong
second in local auto sales so far, Dytianquin said Mitsubishi
Philippines is having a difficulty catching up with current industry
leader Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., due to the latter’s robust
passenger car market.
He admitted that Mitsubishi lags
behind in sales of small cars. Mitsubishi has only sold 861 units of
passenger cars from January to July this year, according to latest
Campi data.
Despite intense competition from
other local automotive companies which also launched many new models
in the last few months, Mitsubishi is confident of its hold on the
SUV market, according to Dytianquin.
Mitsubishi Philippines yesterday
reinforced its SUV line up as it launched the 4x4 Montero Sport 2009
model. The all-new Montero Sport has two variants: the GLS and GLS
SE.
The Philippines is the first
country where the improved Montero Sport would be sold, Dytianquin
disclosed, adding that hereafter, the upgraded mid-sized SUV would
soon be introduced to markets in the Asean, Central and South
America, Europe and Australia.
--Ben Arnold O. de Vera
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