Isuzu sales up 11.6% in 9 mos

MANILA, Philippines - Sales of Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) grew 11.6 percent year-on-year in the nine months to September amid strong demand for its vehicle models.

For the January to September period this year, IPC sales rose to 9,630 units compared to 8,626 units in the same period in 2013.

IPC attributed the growth in sales to the performance of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) models, which increased 45.7 percent to 682 units this year from 468 units a year ago.

Driving the rise in SUV sales is IPC’s All-New mu-X introduced during the 5th Philippine International Motor Show in September.

The mu-X replaces the Alterra.

IPC has already sold 357 units of the mu-X in less than a month after its debut.

Apart from the SUV models, IPC’s D-MAX pickup also contributed to the higher sales.

As of end-September, IPC sold 2,860 units of the D-MAX, 91 percent higher than the 1,497 units moved during the same period last year.

IPC’s trucks, likewise, helped drive higher sales with the firm’s total commercial vehicle sales posting an 18.8 percent growth to 2,233 units in the January to September period this year from the previous year’s 1,880 units.

For the month of September alone, IPC’s sales climbed 27.3 percent to 1,213 units this year from 953 units last year.

The company has set a record-high sales target of 15,000 units this year.

Last year, it sold 11,793 units.