Auto sector sees record sales in ’16

Local automotive players are expecting another stellar performance this year as sales may likely surge by about 36 percent to an estimated 320,000 units.

Last year, total sales recorded by the industry reached 234,747 units.

For next year, automotive players are hoping for at least a 10 percent growth to roughly 350,000 units on the back of a strong and steady demand from the domestic market.

Rommel Gutierrez, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), said they are even optimistic of being able to surpass that initial target, but will, in the meantime, be sticking to this conservative forecast. A review of the target will be made by the middle of 2016 to assess whether this still reflected the actual sales performance of the industry.

Next year’s growth rate however is seen to be much slower than this year’s performance, a development which officials said may be attributed to the fact that the automotive industry will already be coming off from a high base.

Campi officials also pointed out that compared to the region, the Philippine automotive industry continues to post increases in sales.

Data from the Asean Automotive Federation showed that the Philippines remained one of the strongest automotive markets in the region as vehicle sales continued its double digit climb, in contrast to the declining trend seen in Asean region.

The Philippines was one of the three countries in the region that posted an increase in sales in the first 10 months of the year. The other two were Singapore, which recorded a 61.2 percent surge in vehicle sales, and Vietnam, with a 59 percent increase.

Cumulatively, motor vehicle sales among the seven Asean economies culled by Asean AutoFed fell by 6.2 percent to 2.49 million units. The biggest decline was seen in Brunei at 20.2 percent to 12,157 units followed by Indonesia (17.8 percent to 853,008 units); Thailand (13.6 percent to 621,742 units); and Malaysia (1 percent to 541,142 units).