Vehicle sales surge by 22%

Vehicle sales rose by 22 percent to 69,737 units in the first four months of the year, on continued strong demand in the local market.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that for April alone, car sales rose by 20 percent to 18,094 units from the 15,094 units sold in the same month last year.

“The overall outlook for April was lower because historically, the Holy Week month registers lower sales due to few selling days. However, the market volume for April was still notable and beyond what we anticipated,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement on Thursday.

“For the remaining months of the second quarter, as the automotive industry continues to get stronger, we are considering higher sales, if not stable,” Gutierrez added.

According to the joint Campi and TMA report, the passenger car segment grew by 32.7 percent to 24,824 units in the January to April period, while the commercial vehicle segment registered a 16.9-percent increase in the number of units sold to 44,913 units.

“This improvement is due to strong, stable demand for new models and continuous marketing support where most brands extended their summer promotions,” Gutierrez said.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. retained its market leadership with a 44.35-percent share in total vehicle sales or 30,930 units in the first four months of the year, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., with a 23.53-percent share at 16,411 units.

Ford Motor Co. Phils. Inc. came in third with a 7.82-percent share (5,456 units), followed by Isuzu Philippines Corp. with a 5.96-percent market share (4,154 units), and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with

a 5.48- percent share (3,825 units).

Despite the continued increase in vehicle sales in the local market, the Philippine automotive industry still lags in Asean.

Data from the Asean Automotive Federation showed that in terms of vehicle sales, the Philippines remained in fourth place, having sold only 51,643 motor vehicles as of end-March this year. This paled in comparison to the 328,554 units sold by Indonesia, followed by Thailand, which registered motor vehicle sales of 224,171 units, and Malaysia with 159,910 units.

Sales in Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei stood at 24,121 units, 9,366 units, and 4,348 units, respectively.

In terms of motor vehicle production, the Philippines is still the cellar dweller, having produced only 20,400 units as of end-March.

Among the five countries, Thailand was the front runner with a production of 517,492 motor vehicles as of end-March this year, followed by Indonesia with 340,237 units; Malaysia, 153,357 units; and Vietnam, 22,751 units. Amy R. Remo