Auto sales shifts to high gear, zooms up 17.3% in first half

The country’s automotive industry accelerated with a double-digit sales growth of 17.3 percent in  the first half of the year as the local economy continued to benefit from strong consumer demand.

In a joint statement, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said the strong peso coupled with the introduction of new models led to the 17.3 percent growth as compared to the first half of the previous year.

In April, Mitsubishi introduced three new sports utility vehicle (SUV) models — the all-new Outlander, Mitsubishi Endeavor and Pajero. A month earlier, Honda introduced its new generation CR-V while Nissan unveiled its Super Safari.

“The auto industry continues to shift to higher gear with double-digit growth of 17.3 percent compared to the same period last year, posting 54,259 vehicle sales for the first half of the year,” said Elizabeth H. Lee, CAMPI president.

She said growth is expected to continue until the end of the year given the revised economic growth target of 6.1 percent to 6.5 percent and the pending market expansion program.

“For buyers, the second half of the year will prove to be much more exciting with auto players launching more new models, a number of which will be launched at the much anticipated International Motor Show organized by CAMPI on Aug. 9-12 at the World Trade Center,” Lee noted.

“2007 might just prove to be the year that the auto industry accelerates to  higher growth that should be sustained in the coming  years,” Lee added.

On a month-on-month bais, sales was almost flat in June, selling 9,737 units as against the 9,693 units sold in May.

In June, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader as it captured the biggest chunk of total auto sales with a 34.33 percent market share.

A distant second was Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 15.9 percent while Mitsubishi Motors Philippines was third with 12.87 percent.

Data showed that there were more commercial vehicles sold in June than passenger cars. Commercial vehicle sales made up 66 percent of total sales while passenger cars account for the remaining 34 percent.

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

Sales of passenger cars went down 11 percent in June to 3,263 units from 3,671 in May, mainly due to low stock levels of new models launched.  

But for the first time in months, Honda beat Toyota in monthly passenger car sales by selling 1,207 cars or 36.99 percent of the market while Toyota sold 896 cars representing a 27.46 percent share. Third was Hyundai Asia Resources Inc with 8.73 percent while Ford placed fourth at 6.77 percent. General Motors Automobiles Phils. was fifthat 4.29 percent or 140 cars.

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle sales for June grew 7.5 percent to 6,474 units from 6,022. The industry is expecting sales to continue to pick up in the coming months as buyers are given more options and dealers are offering more competitive financing promos.

The commercial vehicle segment continues to be the driver of growth for the total auto industry.

Toyota was the leader in commercial vehicle sales at 37.8 percent of the market as it sold 2,447 vehicles. Second was Mitsubishi at 17.96 percent or 1,163 units sold. Third was Isuzu Philippines Corp. a 11.35 percent or 735 units followed by Hyundai at 8.8 percent. Ford was fifth at 5.64 percent.