Automotive sales jump 11% in Jan-Nov

Car sales rose by a notable 11 percent in the first 11 months of the year as a result of heavy promotional blitz employed by local assemblers to perk up demand in an otherwise sluggish market.

Based on a report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), total industry sales from January to November this year went up to 77,872 units from 70,233 units in the same period last year.

For November alone, total industry sales went up by a modest 5.8 percent to 8,571 units from 8,098 units a month ago.

Sales of commercial vehicles, which accounted for 74 percent of the total market, rose by 19.2 percent to 57,762 units during the 11-month period, from 48,449 units a year ago.

Demand for passenger cars went down by 7.7 percent to 20,100 units from 21,784 units a year ago. This product category accounted for 26 percent of total industry sales.

In terms of assemblers, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC) remained on top with sales from both passenger and commercial vehicles leading the pack.

However, Isuzu executive vice president Hiroshi Ishino said yesterday that Isuzu managed to loosen the tight grip of Toyota on commercial vehicle sales for the month of November.

Toyota acknowledged that its sales for November dropped by six percent from October due to low market demand.

This was compounded by the low output of the Revo due to delays in new parts delivery.

Toyota gave its assurance that new parts delivery has normalized and it, thus, expects a good end-year performance for the Revo as well as other models.

Toyota still expects to finish the year as the triple crown leader in terms of passenger cars, commercial vehicles and overall sales.