Vehicle sales seen hitting ’13 goal

Industry-wide automotive sales are on track to reach 210,000 units in 2013 as sales of the Chamber of Auto Manufacturers in the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the allied Truck Manufacturers Association (TMP) grew by more than a fourth as of end-April.

The new target of 210,000 units is 5 percent higher than the initial forecast of 200,000 units.

Campi reported that sales in the first four months of the year reached 56,590 units, 27.4 percent higher than the 44,428 units sold during the same period in 2012.

Such growth puts the industry on track with the adjusted target, Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said yesterday in a text message.

“There’s a strong correlation between the growth of the economy and automotive sales. The recent upgrades in Philippine investment ratings are expected to further boost the economy; thus, we don’t expect any slowing down in the performance of the sector which may even hit the 210,000 mark by the end of this year,” Gutierrez said.

The top performer as of April this year is Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. with a 41-percent market share, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines with 24 percent, Honda Cars Philippines at 8.8 percent, Isuzu Philippines Corp. at 6.7 percent and Ford Philippines also at 6.7 percent.

According to Campi data, year-to-date passenger car sales reached 18,512 units or a 41-percent increase over the 13,139 units sold in the same period in 2012.

“The share of passenger cars in the total sales has likewise increased from 29.6 percent to 33 percent for the periods under comparison indicating an improvement in individual buying capacity,” Campi said in a statement.

Commercial vehicles, which accounted for more than 67 percent of total sales, contributed 38,078 units.

This is 22 percent higher than the 31,289 units sold for the same four-month period in 2012. Within the commercial vehicle category, trucks and buses posted a 62 percent increase with 580 units sold compared to 2012 year-to-date sales of 358 units.

The country’s bus re-fleeting program and an observed increase in demand from the construction sector (mostly private sector projects) helped drive growth, according to CAMPI and TMA.