Vehicle sales slow by 14% in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — Combined sales of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) declined 14 percent in the nine months to September this year from a year ago amid weak demand for passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV).

A joint report released Thursday showed aggregate sales of CAMPI and TMA reached 261,057 units as of end-September, down from 302,869 units last year.

PC sales were down 20.2 percent in the nine-month period to 81,078 units from the previous year’s 101,655 units.

Sales of CV also dipped 10.6 percent to 179,979 units as of end-September from 201,214 units a year ago.

For the month of September alone, sales decreased 9.7 percent to 31,116 units from 34,445 units last year.

But month-on-month, sales in September grew 2.6 percent from the 30,313 units sold in August.

PC sales in September declined 10.2 percent to 9,441 units from 10,516 units in the previous year.

CV sales for the month of September likewise declined 9.4 percent to 21,675 units from 23,929 units a year ago.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader during the nine-month period with a 42 percent market share.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. placed second with a 19.4 percent market share, followed by Nissan Philippines Inc. with a market share of 9.4 percent.

Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. was on fourth place with a 6.9 percent market share, while Honda Cars Philippines Inc. took the fifth spot with a 6.7 percent market share.

CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said new models in the market helped drive higher month-on-month sales in August and September.

 “We remain optimistic that this trend will be sustained before the year ends, as we expect boost in sales from the upcoming 7th Philippine International Motor Show this month and the Christmas season,” he said.