Vehicle firms post strong October sales

MemberS of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) posted a 12-percent growth in October sales to 15,081 units from 13,456 units in the same month last year.

The sales for October was the highest registered for the year and 17 percent more than the 12,857 units sold in September, the group said.

On a year-to-date basis, Campi members sold 126,663 units, or 7-percent higher than the January-October sales of 118,762 units in 2011.

“We are very pleased with the outstanding performance of last month’s sales. This was a result of all manufacturers being very aggressive with their marketing efforts coupled with an influx of new model introductions the past months,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement. Gutierrez is also vice president of Toyota Motors Corp.

Toyota led the industry in the first 10 months by garnering 42 percent of the market.

It was followed by fellow Japanese manufacturers Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Inc. with 22 percent and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 8 percent. A far fourth was Isuzu Motors with a 7-percent market share and Ford Philippines with 5 percent.