Vehicle sales up 16%

Vehicle sales managed to grow by 16 percent in the first 11 months of the year to 164,098 units, despite the losses incurred by car dealerships in the Visayas regions in the aftermath of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

In November alone, vehicle sales rose by almost 9 percent to 15,917 units from the 14,617 units sold in the same month last year, data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed.

Supertyphoon Yolanda  “struck just a week into November, which opened with a three-day holiday. Sales could have been much better had there been no catastrophe,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement Friday.

Although sales from January to November already exceeded the 2012 vehicle sales by 5 percent, it remained largely short of the automotive firms’ sales target of 210,000 units for 2013.

But Campi remained bullish that it would be able to meet its targets. This meant that members of Campi and TMA would need to sell over 45,000 units in December alone.

“December is still the best time for the industry. Returning balikbayans, bonuses and year-end savings are real market enhancers. Commercial vehicles will also continue to perform well as government and private organizations undertake massive reconstruction efforts,” Gutierrez explained.

“To reciprocate, auto companies will continue to provide enticing promotion packages to assist customers while closing their annual sales targets.”

For the first 11 months, the trucks and buses segment registered the largest growth at 41.9 percent to 1,899 units.

The segment with the biggest volume sold in the same period was the commercial vehicle segment with 109,132 units.

In a related development, sales of Hyundai vehicles registered a 4-percent decline from January to November this year to 19,617 units, from 20,491 units a year ago.

But in November alone, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, said sales inched up by 2 percent to 1,712 units.

Despite lackluster showings from the Tucson and Elantra models, which are both set to receive mid-cycle changes soon, Hari said the Korean brand’s tally was kept healthy by popular receptions for the Eon and Santa Fe models.

“Closing the year with six consecutive months of growth is a positive reinforcement for the brand as it aims to end 2013 on a high with new and exciting models to excite the Filipino consumer,” said Hari president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

In the first 11 months of the year, Toyota Motor Philippines continued to dominate the local automotive market with a 41.57 percent share and sales of 68,218 units, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 24 percent.

Almost tied in third and fourth spots were Honda Cars Philippines and Ford Motor Philippines, with market shares of 7.39 percent and 7.35 percent, respectively.

Isuzu Philippines Corp. rounds up the top five players with a 6.55 percent share.