Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) sold a total of 13,502 XPANDER in 2018 making the XPANDER the bestselling small Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) in the country. With just less than 10 month period in the market, the XPANDER outsold its competitors. MMPC introduced the all-new XPANDER during the first quarter of 2018 and it instantly captured the market’s interest with thousands of reservations received. Last year, the all-new XPANDER was also acknowledged by several award giving bodies such as Auto Focus People’s Choice and Media’s Choice Awards and the prestigious C! Awards for both its design and performance. The XPANDER was voted as the Best Design MPV in the Auto Focus Media’s Choice Awards and as the Best Compact Carrier from the C! Awards. With more units available now, MMPC is optimistic that the XPANDER will further drive MMPC’s growth for the year.
Meanwhile, MMPC recorded a modest improvement on its market share in 2018 versus its 2017 market share. MMPC sold a total of 67,512 units last year accounting for 18.89% market share. Although, MMPC experienced a drop on its total sales, the company was able to slightly improve its market share and remained to be the number 2 bestselling automotive brand in the country. Apart from the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act that has affected the whole automotive industry, the phasing-out of MMPC’s two bestselling models, the Adventure and the L300 have also affected on the decline in sales volume. Although MMPC sales went down, several models posted an improvement on its total annual sales. The locally manufactured Mirage G4 increased total sales by 14.0% with 14,810 units sold. The Mirage G4 is among the top choices under small passenger car segment. A practical choice of Filipinos for its features and affordability. MMPC has also recorded an improvement on the total Strada sold last year as compared to the total sales in 2017. For 2018, MMPC sold a total of 4,561 double cab pick-up versus 3,663 units sold in 2017.
This year, MMPC is highly optimistic that it will recover and bring back its robust sales performance. “With the strong supply and demand of the XPANDER and with the introduction of the New Strada, we look forward to a more progressive year”, MMPC Executive Vice President, Mr. Taichi Nakajima said. He added that the company is positive that the New Strada will bring back the market enthusiasm on this pick-up brand and further improve the market presence and market share under this segment. Aside from the New Strada, MMPC will further strengthen its line-up thru introduction of model upgrades during the year. MMPC is aiming to achieve a better performance in 2019. Aside from its extensive model line-up and aggressive promotions, MMPC is also working hard to enhance its after sales and provide customers with top class service./PN
