Carmudi sees more room for car financing growth

MANILA, Philippines - Car financing in the Philippines has room for growth given a large market base as a result of the growing middle class, online vehicle platform Carmudi said.

Subir Lohani, managing director of Carmudi Philippines, said the company expects an increase in the car financing industry in the coming years.

“The greater availability of financing and lower interest rates, the better it encourages to purchase a car,” said Carmudi, a member of the Rocket Internet Group.

“Car financing has always been an option that consumers in the Philippines look at when buying a car and data shows that the demand for auto loans in the country continues to increase,” Lohani said.

“With the growing economy and increase in demand for passenger cars, we at Carmudi now see more of our Filipino customers asking about financing options. With more banks and financial institutions offering attractive loan programs and low down payment requirements, we expect auto purchases through financing to continue to flourish in the country,” he added.

Lohani said the government’s implementation of the government’s Comprehensive National Industrial Strategy would be a major catalyst for growth in 2016 and beyond.

As a result, the implementation of the Comprehensive Automative Resurgence Strategy program will help make the Philippines an important base in Asean in improving local manufacturing capabilities.

As manufacturing increases, so will car financing, Carmudi said.

Citing a recent Nielsen’s global survey on global automative demand, Carmudi said 47 percent of households in the Philippines do not own a car, placing the country fifth lowest in the world.

“Regardless of the low ownership levels, the Philippines is in the top 10 countries worldwide with the highest purchase intent, with 76 percent of Filipinos planning to purchase a car in the next two years compared to 65 percent globally.

Aside from purchase intent, Filipinos have the highest level of vehicle upgrade intent globally, with more than nine out of 10 Filipino car owners or 69 percent planning to upgrade their cars when they have reached a more financially sound condition,” it said.