Hyundai reports 26% decline in August sales

MANILA, Philippines - Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) announced yesterday a 26-percent decline in August sales to 1,419 units from 1,921 units a year ago due to supply limitations.

Passenger car sales dropped substantially, particularly in the sub-compact segment, with the stoppage of Getz model production which recorded marked sales in the prior period. On the other hand, light commercial vehicle sales grew by three percent with the strong performance of Tucson and the H100.

Meanwhile, HARI sold a total of 13,271 units from January to August 2011. This represents a four percent decline from the same period last year. While there was softer growth in the LCV segment, PC sales grew by four percent on the back of significant expansion in the sales of newcomer Hyundai Elantra, Midsize PC bestseller Hyundai Sonata and sports sedan Genesis Coupe.

“Against a slower domestic economy, global market uncertainties and the seasonal weakness of auto sales in August, consumer demand for Hyundai products continues to be resilient as evidenced by growing customer orders,” HARI president and chief executive officer Maria Fe Agudo said in a statement.

“Supply setbacks, however, continue to lag delivery to our customers and dampen our sales growth. For the remainder of the year, we expect that with a more favorable supply situation, we will be able to keep our sales performance on a positive growth track,” she added.

HARI’s sales outlook remains optimistic for the rest of the year with expectations of reduced uncertainty from a stable domestic and global economy, better supply situation and improved consumer outlook from increased consumer liquidity or cash flow from the yuletide bonuses and stronger OFW remittances during the last quarter of the year.

 The firm noted that combined with the seasonal downtrend in auto sales for August, global demand-supply gap continues to affect the timeliness of product delivery which in turn leads to increased unmet orders for HARI and deter more positive sales outcomes.

Consumption trends for the first seven months of the year showed that car buyers steadily snapped the new Accent, the new Elantra, the Sonata, and the Genesis Coupe. In August, with fresh supplies of the bestselling Tucson, sales rose by 123 percent or 453 units sold, contributing significantly to the 3 percent growth in total LCV sales. On the premium side, despite supply constraints, the Grand Starex remains a favorite in its category.