Isuzu Philippines optimistic of hitting 2022 sales target  

ISUZU Philippines Corp. is optimistic about reaching its sales target for 2022, a company official said, citing signs of economic recovery and purchases of commercial vehicles.

“So far, our target for this year [is] around 16,000 units and we are optimistic that we can hit that. Despite of all the challenges in the industry, we are still optimistic that this year will still be favorable for the industry, especially for Isuzu,” said Robert D. Carlos, Isuzu Philippines assistant division head for sales, on the sidelines of the car manufacturer’s 25^th inaugural anniversary in Pasay City.

The models that are driving growth for Isuzu Philippines is its lightweight truck Traviz and pickup truck D-Max, he said.

Mr. Carlos said economic activity “is slowly going back and we can see the purchase of vehicles, especially for our commercial vehicles, particularly the Traviz, which is ideal for logistics delivery.”

He cited online shopping as the reason for the popularity of vehicles for package delivery as well as “fleet customers that are purchasing trucks as they go back to their projects and businesses.”

He said Isuzu Philippines would continue to supply its vehicle brands despite supply chain issues.

“Our push models are the Traviz and the D-Max,” Mr. Carlos said. “I think almost all of the brands are experiencing supply problems. But we are still really trying to cope up. We will supply everything that we have.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Carlos said that Isuzu Philippines plans to establish 50 dealerships across the country by the first quarter of 2023.

“So far, we have 48 dealerships and counting. We plan to hit 50 dealerships hopefully until next year. Because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, some are getting [delayed]. But hopefully next year, we can hit that and even more,” Mr. Carlos said.

“We’re targeting [the new dealerships in the] first quarter of next year. We have one [planned] in [the] Visayas and one [planned] in Luzon,” he added.

In 2021, Isuzu Philippines ranked sixth among car manufacturers in the country as it sold 14,424 units, equivalent to a 5.37% market share, based on a joint report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association, Inc.

For the first six months of 2022, data from the carmaker groups showed that Isuzu Philippines sold 7,936 units, translating to a 5.12% market share or sixth place among car firms in the country. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave