Auto sales jump 16.6% to 84,050 units in Jan-Sept

Auto sales climbed by 16.6 percent to 84,050 units in the first nine months of the year from a year ago level, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said in a joint statement.

“The continued double-digit growth is seen to continue for the rest of the year should the economic environment remain robust,” CAMPI president Elizabeth H. Lee said.

Looking forward, Lee said the last three months of the year will be more promising for the industry.

“The last quarter will be most exciting for buyers as last quarter push to meet year-end sales target will be supported by promotions and programs to sustain momentum until year-end,” she said.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remains the country’s top-seller with a market share of 39.93 percent.

It was followed by Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with a 15.11 percent share while Mitsubishi Motors Philippines was third with a 12.73 percent market share.

Data showed that there were more commercial vehicles sold than passenger cars. Sales of commercial vehicles account for 63 percent of total while the remaining 37 percent is passenger cars.

CAMPI and TMA explained that the popularity of using vehicles in business is catching up with sales of pickups, vans, and Asian utility vehicles (AUV) growing at a faster pace.

Sales of passenger cars went up to 3,892 units in September from 3,400 in August.

For the nine-month period, passenger car sales went up by 5.7 percent to 29,562 units.

“The sales for the passenger car segment still proved to be strong as it sustained its growth contributed by the arrival of stocks and active sales campaign,” Lee said.

Toyota sold the most number of passenger cars or 1,784 cornering 45.84 percent of the market while Honda sold 1,037 cars representing 26.64 percent market share. Nissan followed with a 6.99 percent share while Hyundai came in fourth with a 4.5 percent. Ford Motor Company Phils. was fifth with a 4.34 percent market share.

Commercial vehicle sales for September went up by 10.3 percent to 6,593 units from 5,975 units a month ago.

Commercial Vehicle sales continue to dominate the market with a significant growth of 23.5 percent year-on-year.

New models for the AUV segment continued to support the strong growth with a 22,776 unit sales for the Jan-September period yielding a

26.3 percent growth so far. Month-on-month sales also increased by eight percent due to fleet sales account deliveries and continuous promotional activities.

Toyota was the leader in commercial vehicle sales getting 36.45 percent of the market as it sold 2,403 vehicles. Second was Mitsubishi at 19.25 percent translating to 1,269 units sold.