Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) registered huge gains on their medium and heavy-duty truck models in both year-to-date first quarter totals and month-on-month results in March.
According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association, IPC sold 158 medium and heavy-duty trucks from January to March 2013, a 53.4 percent leap over the 103 units the company sold last year. 462 trucks were sold in the segment in the Philippines in 2013, meaning IPC trucks have taken a 34.2 percent market share in that segment.
IPC also sold 79 trucks in March compared to 37 trucks in February, which represented a 113.5 percent leap. As a whole, the industry total for the segment in the month of March totaled 179 trucks, with IPC trucks taking a 44.1 percent market share in the segment for that month. IPC’s other truck products, the NHR and NKR of the N-series light-duty range have been best-sellers in the segment for a record 14 consecutive years. Sales of the units reached 126 trucks in March, which is a 28.1 percent improvement over February, when IPC sold 101 units. IPC controls 68.5 percent of the segment overall.
Sales of Isuzu trucks in all segments reached 205 trucks in March, compared to 138 units in February, which was a 48 percent gain. “The strong performance of Isuzu’s commercial truck models is directly parallel to the robust health of the Philippine economy,” said IPC Executive Vice President Takashi Tomita. “As various local SMEs and other businesses grow, so does the market’s need for vehicles that can be relied upon to move the country forward.”
The Isuzu Crosswind also helped boost IPC’s first quarter performance. The Crosswind sold 1,518 units in the first quarter over 1,405 units in 2012, an 8 percent improvement. March’s sales of 512 Crosswind units was a 4.5 percent improvement over the 490 sold in February.
IPC’s year-on-year sales from January to March 2013 had a 0.2 percent increase over the previous year, with 2,734 units sold. IPC also sold 984 vehicles in March against 916 in February, which represented a 7.4 percent growth over the previous month.