Thanks to its big performance in the highly-competitive passenger car category, Hyundai did well in sales in the year coming to an end.

According to a newspaper item which came out recently, sales of Hyundai went up by a whooping 40% year-on-year in November to 2,217 units from 1,578 units.

The company posted an all- time high 81% growth in the passenger car segment.

In fact, last month’s sales posted 22% improvement compared to the October sales as the company rode its good showing in both the PC and LCV categories which grew by 14% and 38%, respectively.

The strong sales recovery in November brought Hyundai’s sales in the first 11 months of the year to 18,922 units or 1% growth from the previous year, beating industry’s negative sales outlook in the wake of slower GDP growth of 3.2% in the third quarter of 2011 and natural calamities which hit Japan and Thailand.

With better supply situation, all models across the Hyundai portfolio surged this November, led by newcomers and winds of change compact sedans – the Accent and the Elantra. Demand across Hyundai brands has been outstripping supply and buyers have placed advanced orders across the Hyundai dealer network.

Consumer outlook in 2012 will be hinged on expectations of improved domestic economy, reduced external volatilities from US and EU markets, and continued inflows from overseas Filipino remittances and foreign direct investment.

Easing of supply constraints will help meet accelerating demand for Hyundai models and further boost sales.

As expected, Toyota Motor Philippine Corp. remained No. 1 with sales in the first 11 months reaching 50,610 units for a 38.31 share of the market.

Coming in second was Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, which sold 30,175 units in the same period for a 21.94 percent market share.