Aerial view of new cars at parking port in automobile factory.
Local sales of automotive vehicles are expected to grow by 10 percent to 15 percent this year on the back of improving economic prospects, according to the largest umbrella organization of car companies in the country.
Rommel Gutierrez, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), said the growth would be fueled mainly by the introduction of new models, softening inflation plus the continuing growth in remittances from overseas Filipino workers.
“Chinese brands are also becoming bigger,” he added.
Vehicle sales in the Philippines hit a record high 429,807 in 2023, a substantial 21.9-percent growth compared to the previous year, with the sales volume beating the industry’s revised annual sales target of 423,000 as well as their prepandemic sales level.
In December alone, sales of new vehicles increased by 5.1 percent, marking 12 straight months of growth in 2023.
The initial 2024 growth estimate of 10 to 15 percent is a marked slowdown from the growth last year, but Gutierrez said this was just the “unofficial” estimate and would be revised as more data come in.
Annual sales volume has been increasing in the last few years after the pandemic, with Campi records showing that the industry was able to spur growth after the public health crisis.
In 2019, sales reached 369,941 units before plunging to 223,793 units in 2020, the year of the outbreak.
Sales then grew to 268,488 units in 2021 and then to 352,596 units in 2022. INQ