MANILA, Philippines –- Looking for cars that deliver “all that jazz for less gas”? How about the kind of wheels Filipinos could be driving in the future? Members of The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) are banking on these consumer concerns to drive people to see the 2nd Philippine International Motor Show on August 21 to 24 at the World Trade Center.

CAMPI president Elizabeth Lee hopes that the motor show will revive automotive sales this year, which has suffered a slowdown because of rising oil prices.

“Last year, we sold 118,000 vehicles which is higher than our 100,000 benchmark and that was the first time we had an international motor show in Manila. We are hoping to exceed this year’s target of 125,500 units,” she said during a press conference.

Lee said despite the skyrocketing prices of oil that affect manufacturer’s raw materials and logistics costs, local manufacturers have not increased prices. “This is the time to buy cars, while prices are not yet going up,” she said.

“We are still growing although it’s an uphill battle,” Lee said. For the first six months, sales have grown 13.6 percent, much lower than 17.4 percent in the same period last year. But CAMPI originally targeted only 6.0 percent for the whole year.

“We will be recalibrating our targets because of this,” said Homer Maranan, executive director of CAMPI.

Lee said easy bank financing schemes boosted automotive sales despite record-oil prices. Overseas Filipino workers who find better returns in setting up small businesses as opposed to depositing their savings in banks have also bolstered sales.

“Around 68.0 percent of sales in the Philippines are made up of light commercial vehicles – and these include vans, utility vehicles, pickups, and a very small segment are SUVs (sports utility vehicles),” Lee said. These are the cars that are used mostly by small business owners who use vans for shuttle services, among others.

In the motor show, CAMPI will also be featuring concept cars for the future. These include General Motor’s Malibu and Tahoe hybrids. Exactly 15 global auto brands will be represented at the motor show, which will be displayed at an 11,000 square meter area at the World Trade Center.

There will also be scale model exhibits, seminars on karting and drifting events, car and fashion photography and actual test drives of the latest models to make the PIMS an “experiential” motor show.