Automotive sales rise 10% in first five months

Demand for new models propelled the car industry with sales rising by 10 percent, or 2,907 units, to 31,859 units in the first five months of the year from 28,952 in the same period last year.

"The increase in motor vehicle sales was due to the new models such as Honda’s redesigned CR-V," Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) secretary general Mario de Grano said yesterday.

For May alone, sales of passenger cars dropped by 11 percent to 1,680 units compared with 1,887 in the same period last year.

But sales in May were 10 percent higher than the previous month with 1,527 units sold in April.

CAMPI, however, did not provide a reason for the month-on-month increase.

Based on CAMPI data, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMCP) maintained its lead with total sales of 9,578 units during the five-month period.

Toyota’s bestsellers remained the Corolla Altis which sold 3,203 units for the five-month period and Tamaraw/Revo FX with 5,039 units sold for the review period.

Mitsubishi was a far second with total industry sales of 8,626 units. Mitsubishi’s sales were more evenly spread out among its various models although its bestseller for the five-month period was the Adventure with 3,081 units.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. placed third with total sales of 4,264 units.

Honda’s redesigned CR-V sold 1,450 units in just two months since its introduction in April.

Isuzu Philippines Corp., which sold about Automotive sales 50 fewer units than Honda, ended fourth overall with total sales of 4,210 units. Isuzu’s highlander sold 2,725 units from January to May.

The combined sales from Nissan Motors Philippines Inc. and Universal Motors Corp. of 2,634 units only allowed Nissan to gain fifth place followed by Ford Motor Co. Philippines with sales of 1,580 units.