MANILA, Philippines — Rising demand and stronger purchasing power have driven the growth of vehicle sales in the first half of the year to 108,957 units, up 24.9 percent from the 87,228 units sold a year ago in the same period.
For June alone, vehicle sales grew by 37.8 percent to 19,622 units, data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed.
In a statement, CAMPI said the surge in vehicle sales in June could largely be attributed to the “staggering demand of the market for passenger cars” given “aggressive product launches and continuous marketing support to meet the customer demand.”
“It is apparent that the market’s ongoing demand and increasing purchase intent have positively boosted the morale of the automotive industry for the first quarter. We are equally pleased with the overwhelming results for the second quarter as sales continue to increase,” said CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez.
“As for the month of July, we are expecting to have stable to higher sales, with our confidence essentially built on the positive response of the automotive market for the new models and marketing activities,” he added.
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Data provided by CAMPI and TMA showed that sales of total passenger cars grew by 44.9 percent to 40,609 units in the first half of the year, while commercial vehicle sales registered 15.5 percent rise to 68,348 units.
For June alone, sales of passenger cars surged by 100 percent to 8,278 units while commercial vehicles grew by a more modest 12.2 percent to 11,344 units.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. retained its market leadership with a 44.52-percent share in total vehicle sales or 48,512 units in the first six months of the year, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., with a 23.01 percent share at 25,066 units.
Ford Motor Co. Phils. Inc. maintained its third place ranking with an 8.14 percent share (8,864 units), followed by Isuzu Philippines Corp. with a 5.9 percent market share (6,429 units), and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 5.25 percent share (5,715 units).
In a separate statement, Ford Philippines reported that its sales for June grew 36 percent to 1,697 units, led mainly by strong demand for the Ford Ranger, Everest and Ecosport vehicles.
Ford also said it remained on track with its dealer expansion roadmap with the opening of the new Ford Alabang as well as additional provincial dealerships in Zamboanga and Baguio next month. This will bring the total number of Ford dealers to 35 nationwide, contributing to Ford’s plan of having 37 dealers in the country by the end of the year.
“Our rapidly growing dealer network in the Philippines validates and supports our commitment to our loyal customers, and through our expansion plan we hope and expect to reach out to even more Filipinos, especially in the provinces,” said Ford Philippines managing director Kay Hart.
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