Vehicle sales in PH up 32.4% in Nov
Vehicle sales in the Philippines grew by about a third in November, hitting the highest monthly sales volume so far this year and sustaining the local automotive industry’s double-digit growth momentum.
A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed total vehicle sales of 35,037 units in November, 32.4 percent higher than the 26,456 units sold in the same month last year.
“The automotive industry underscores the importance of pent-up demand from consumers supported by continued economic recovery, boosting business and consumer confidence. These, alongside the containment of the pandemic, are significant factors toward the sustained growth,” Campi said in a statement.
“The auto sales performance has been improving, recording double-digit growths for nine successive months. With the continued growing consumer demand for new motor vehicles, the industry is convinced and confident in exceeding its sales forecast of 336,000 this year”, Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said in the statement.
The November sales figure puts the year-to-date number at 315,337 vehicle units, indicating a 31-percent growth from the level in the same period last year.
Sustained sales growth
By sheer numbers, the November sales were the highest this year, followed by the October sales of 32,146 units.
In terms of growth rate, August sales recorded the highest, with sales jumping by 90.5 percent from a year-ago to 30,185 vehicle units.
Still, vehicle sales in the Philippines are still behind pre-pandemic levels.
Local automobile firms sold 369,941 units in 2019, 223,793 units in 2020, and 268,488 units in 2021.
For more than a decade before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, motor vehicle sales in the Philippines have been growing steadily by 20 to 30 percent a year.
Top brands
Japanese car brands still dominate the Philippine market, with Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. at the top spot with a 48.27-percent market share, selling 156,874 units from January to November.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp followed with a 14.81-percent market share (46,692 units); Ford Motor Company Phils. Inc., the only non-Japanese brand in the top 5, with 6.80 percent (21,450); Nissan Philippines Inc. with 6.14 percent (19,373 units), and Suzuki Phils. Inc. with 5.75 percent (18,118 units).
