Sales of cars, trucks surged 40% in August

The Philippine automotive industry chalked up another record performance in August as vehicle sales reached 32,472 units, up 40 percent from the 23,181 units sold a year ago.

This brought the total vehicle sales to 229,919 units in the first eight months of the year, justifying the upward revision in the sales forecast announced by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) recently.

“During the 6th Philippine International Motor Show Press Conference, we announced our revised sales target for the year. With consistent increase in monthly sales, we believe that we can reach 370,000 unit sales by the end of 2016. With impressive August performance and the much-anticipated 6th Philippine International Motor Show this Sept. 14 to 18, the revised target is likely possible,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said Thursday.

Joint data from Campi and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that passenger car and commercial vehicle segments sustained their double-digit growths from January to August.

Sales of passenger cars rose 15.8 percent to 84,926 units in the first eight months of the year, while those of the commercial vehicle segment increased by 37 percent to 144,993 units.

Campi pointed out that all the categories within the commercial vehicle segment have exceeded their respective sales records in August this year compared to the same month a year ago. This was due to the new Campi members, which included Foton Motors Philippines Inc.

Most notably, the Category 3 or the light trucks saw a 227-percent surge with 1,527 units sold in August from the 467 units sold a year ago. Category 4 saw a 193 percent increase with 639 units sold for the same period from 218 units a year ago. Similarly, Category 5 (heavy duty trucks and buses) posted a 189-percent jump in sales to 309 units in August from 107 units sold in the previous year.

As of end August, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. continued to cement its leadership with a market share of 43.48 percent, equivalent to sales of 99,961 units in the first eight months.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. was the second-largest player with a 17.58-percent share (40,409 units), followed by Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. with 9.72 percent (22,346 units), Isuzu Philippines Corp. with 7.55 percent (17,348 units) and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 6.3 percent (14,496 units).