Bullish consumers boosted 9-month car sales

Vehicle sales grew by 18 percent to 131,381 units in the first nine months of the year, buoyed largely by increased consumer spending for both passenger and commercial vehicles.

In September alone, car sales grew by 14.8 percent to 14,764 units from the 12,857 units sold during the same month last year, according to a joint report issued by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

“September starts the four ’-ber’ months, ushering in the Philippines’ long holiday buying season that will peak in December. To support this buying trend, the past month saw not just several full new model introductions but new brand launches as well,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Data from CAMPI and TMA showed that sales across all segments, except for trucks and buses, grew in September. This was led by the 34-percent jump in the sales in the passenger car segment to 5,136 units from only 3,844 units a year ago.

Commercial vehicles sales also improved by 7 percent to 9,628 units last month from 9,013 units in September 2012.

In the first three quarters of the year, all the vehicle segments posted increases as well. The biggest gain was seen in the passenger car segment, whose sales increased by 29 percent to 43,359 units within the January to September period.