Auto sales picked up slightly in Sept

Auto sales went up 2.3 percent in September to 31,820 units from the same month a year ago, a slight recovery that car and truck manufacturers hope would continue until the end of the year.

The latest car sales figures hint that the industry might be on its way back to recovery, after a bad year weighed down by higher excise taxes, high oil prices, and a consumer demand battered down by high inflation.

This is according to the latest joint report sent on Tuesday by Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

The two groups, which together account for the bulk of industry volume sales, sold 267,364 units in the first nine months of the year, 2.38-percent higher than the 261,161 units sold in the same period last year.

Campi President Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement that September had traditionally seen an increase in sales as the public began to spend for the upcoming holiday season.

Passenger car sales increased 3 percent to 9,721 units in September from 9,441 units in the same month last year. This segment, however, dropped 1.1 percent in the first nine months of the year to 80,317 units, compared to the same period a year ago.

Commercial car sales, on the other hand, went up 2 percent to 22,099 units in September alone. The segment, which accounted for nearly 70 percent of the market, grew 3.9 percent to 187,047 from January to September this year.

Gutierrez said that the industry targeted to sell 410,000 units at the end of the year, which he described as a “highly achievable goal.”

He was likely referring to the total sales target for entire industry, including the sales figures from a group of auto importers called the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc.