Car sales jump 19% in January

Propelled by brisk sales of new models, passenger car sales jumped by 19.1 percent in January compared to the previous year, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) reported yesterday.

In its January sales report, Campi said passenger car sales rose from 1,987 units in 1999 to 2,366 units as car manufacturers introduced new models and embarked on aggressive sales campaigns that triggered a jump in the sale of popular models.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. led the passenger car industry with sales ballooning by 55 percent from 627 units last year to 973 units this year due mostly to its "Drive Me Home" program for its Honda City and Civic models.

Honda spokesperson Tintin Reyes said there had been a very good response to the program which offered comprehensive insurance and pre-registration with the Land Transportation Office.

Reyes said their special offer allowed buyers to save between P20,000 and P25,000 depending on the insurance package picked by the buyer.

Toyota Motor Phils. Corp. was a far second with its car sales going up by 30 percent from 415 units last year to 540 units this year. The company enjoyed brisk sales from the introduction of the Toyota Altis, a model competing directly with the Honda City and Honda Civic.

Campi data showed that Nissan Motor Philippines placed third despite the 14.4-percent decline in sales from 319 units to 273 units. Following Nissan was Ford Motors Phils. which had begun establishing its presence in the market as its car sales went up from one unit in January last year to 167 units this year.

Rounding up the top-five car assembler, Mitsubishi Motor Phils came in fifth place as its plummetted by 57.9 percent from 290 units in January 1999 to 122 units last month.

In terms of total vehicles sales, however, Toyota continued to pace the industry with 2,064 units sold, followed by Mitsubishi with 1,423 units sold. Honda was third with 1,245 units followed by Nissan with 301 units and Columbian with 160 units.

This year, Campi said it expects car sales to total 29,600 units as signs of a recovery had become imminent during the latter part of last year.