CHEVROLET posted strong growth figures in August across key Asean markets as it recorded a 53-percent year-to-date increase, as well as a 26.9-percent rise in the Philippines. According to Philippine Chevrolet distributor The Covenant Car Co. Inc. (TCCCI), the increase is attributed to the performance of Chevrolet cars, particularly the Spark five-door mini hatchback.

TCCCI bared it had sold 116 units of the car in August.

“We have a strong base of quality products like the Spark, Cruze and Captiva that automobile lovers have seen fit to try and ultimately put their confidence in,” said TCCCI Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director Albert Arcilla. “We intend to capitalize on that by making sure people know that we welcome their business and are more than ready to provide them a great ownership and customer service experience with the world-class products we have on offer.”

TCCCI noted that the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, for its part, has been named as Car of the Year Philippines for 2010 to 2011.

The company said it will be adding five new Chevrolet dealerships to the existing 12, including three that will open this month. The rest are scheduled to start operations before the year ends. The three latest dealerships are Chevrolet Greenhills-EDSA, Chevrolet North-EDSA and Chevrolet Otis-Manila. TCCCI said Chevrolet Cebu has also found a temporary showroom and workshop as it prepares to move to a new and bigger facility under the management of Genesis Motor Corp.

In Asean, TCCCI said Chevrolet Malaysia leads with a 155-percent growth, and is followed by Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, which all posted year-on-year increases.

According to TCCCI, General Motors Southeast Asia Operations President Martin Apfel has outlined Chevrolet’s plans for expansion with new product launches and a stronger dealer network, and bared that the carmaker has resumed second-shift operations on its truck line at its production facility in Rayong, Thailand.