CAMPI car sales up 21% in November

MANILA, Philippines - Car sales of local vehicle assemblers went up by more than a fifth in November from a year ago due to availability of supply, strong demand and financing schemes.

In a statement yesterday, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) said it sold 14,620 units in November, 21 percent higher than in the same period last year.

The November result brought total sales in the 11-month period to 141,283 units, an eight-percent increase from the previous year.

By company, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. was the top automobile manufacturer, capturing 41.7 percent of the market.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. accounted for the second biggest share of the market at 22.3 percent.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. came in third with an 8.1-percent share.

Isuzu Philippines Corp. and Ford Philippines took the fourth and fifth spot respectively, with a 7.6-percent and 5.7-percent share of the market.

“The normalization of supply coming from two major calamities last year is partially responsible for the strong industry performance,” the CAMPI said.

The group’s sales last year were affected by supply problems coming from the devastating earthquake in Japan and heavy flooding in Thailand.

The group also said pent up demand, influx of new models and competitive financing schemes likewise supported the higher sales.

CAMPI president Roque Rommel Gutierrez said given the higher sales as of end-November, the group is poised to set record sales this year.

“I am confident that next month’s performance will propel industry sales further as we usually experience increased spending during the holiday season,” he said.

“Consistent with previous reports, these figures strongly reflect the market’s demand based on actual customer deliveries reported by our CAMPI members,” he said further.

For this year, total industry car sales are expected to reach 185,000 units.