Car sales expanded by 6.6% in August

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Philippine vehicle sales grew by 6.6 percent in August, improving from the preceding month but still marking the second slowest growth rate so far this year.

A report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association on Tuesday showed that local dealers had sold 39,155 new units during the month, more than the 36,714 units recorded in August 2023.

The latest posting was slightly better than July’s growth rate of 6.1 percent, which was the lowest recorded since at least January of this year.

READ: Hike in PH vehicle sales quickened to 7.6% in June

The August data brought the overall sales from January to date to 304,765 units, marking a 10.33 percent growth compared with the 276,215 units sold in the same eight-month period in 2023.

In a recent message to the Inquirer, China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Juan Paolo Colet said there is a healthy domestic demand for vehicles in the Philippines.

Favorable macroeconomy

“This shows the underlying strength of the economy on both the demand and supply sides,” Colet said.

“This trend is likely to continue as interest cuts are expected to encourage purchases of vehicles due to lower financing costs,” he added.

Meanwhile, data from the two automotive industry groups also showed that the commercial vehicles accounted for 75.66 percent of total sales during the month, equivalent to 29,626 units.

Passenger cars accounted for the remaining 9,529 units, or 24.34 percent of total sales.

In terms of brands, the Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. continues to have a wide lead with its market share of 45.78 percent in August, which is equivalent to selling 17,924 units during the month.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. came in second with a 20.21 percent market share, followed by Ford Motor Company Phils. Inc with 5.48 percent, Nissan Philippines Inc with 6.26 percent, Suzuki Phils. Inc. with 4.36 percent. INQ