Local auto industry posts 24.6% expansion in 2016

The Philippine automotive industry posted another stellar performance in 2016 as vehicle sales hit a total of 359,572 units last year, up 24.6 percent from the 288,609 units sold in 2015.

According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), last year’s sales exceeded the group’s target for the year of 329,300 units and would certainly meet the 2016 combined target with other industry players of 370,000 units.

“We are very glad that we were able to surpass the target this year. Successful introductions of new models complemented by various events and promotions enabled us to meet the increasing customers’ demands in an expanding Philippine market,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement Tuesday.

Joint data from Campi and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that sales of passenger cars rose 14.4 percent to 133,188 units from the 116,381 units sold a year ago.

Sales of commercial vehicles similarly rose by 31.4 percent to 226,384 units from 172,228 units sold the previous year. Among the commercial vehicles, the light trucks segment posted the highest growth of 70 percent to 8,614 units as of end-2016.

According to Campi and TMA, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. retained its triple crown with 44.14-percent share of the market, equivalent to selling 158,728 units in 2016, while Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. captured the second-biggest market share of 17.08 percent (61,400 units). The third biggest player was Ford Motor Co., which recorded a 9.37-percent market share (33,688 units) followed by Isuzu Philippines Corp. with a 7.61 percent share (27,361 units), and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 6.45 percent market share (23,199 units).