Toyota Group PHL sales up 2.5% in Q1

Toyota Group of the Philippines' collective sales rose 2.5 percent to $248 million in the first quarter of the year from $242 million in the same period in 2012, the company said in a statement over the weekend.

Part of the rise comes from the 35-percent increase in vehicle sales during the period from 12,571 units last year to 16,970.

The Toyota Group is includes Toyota Autoparts Philippines, Inc. and Yazaki Torres Manufacturing, Inc., which manufacture parts for locally assembled vehicles sold by Toyota Motor Philippines and for export to Argentina, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Last year, Toyota Autoparts announced that it will expand its facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The project will commence in 2015 and will increase Toyota Motor's local procurement ratio from 40 percent to 80 percent. — BM, GMA News