Vehicle sales continued growth momentum in October

Vehicle sales in the Philippines last October grew 42.4 percent year-on-year, continuing its double-digit ascent, albeit a bit slower compared to the last two months, according to data from the local automobile industry.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) released late Tuesday afternoon showed that total new motor vehicle sales for the month reached 32,146 units, substantially higher than the 22,581 units sold during the same period a year ago.

“The continued double-digit growth recorded anew in October is boosting optimism for the automotive industry, further accelerating full recovery this year from the pandemic disruptions,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement.

“Sustaining this growth trend in the remaining months of the year gives us confidence that the industry will be able to emerge strong, exceeding its forecast speaking from the current business-as-usual standpoint,” the Campi official added.

Year-to-date, members of both associations sold 280,300 units, indicating a 30.9 percent growth in contrast with the previous year.

The monthly sales number back in August is still the highest so far this year, reaching 30,185 units—an equivalent of a 90.5 percent growth compared to the same month in 2021.

The local automotive industry is targeting to sell 336,000 units by the end of 2022.

The sales target still puts the sales of motor vehicles in the country behind prepandemic levels based on industry figures before the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Local automobile firms went from a yearly sale of 369,941 units in 2019 to 223,793 units in 2020.

For more than a decade before the onset of the health crisis, motor vehicle sales in the Philippines have been growing steadily at a rate of around 20 to 30 percent a year.

Despite this, Gutierrez has earlier expressed optimism that the industry will continue its recovery toward the end of the year, banking on the holiday season to drive up consumer spending on high-value items.