Vehicle sales up 18.4% in 7 months

MANILA, Philippines — Sales of local car and truck assemblers continued to post double-digit growth from January to July as the economy further recovers.

In a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) released yesterday, the groups said year-to-date total new motor vehicle sales rose 18.4 percent to 182,687 units from 154,265 units in the same period last year.

Based on CAMPI data, the industry posted double-digit growth for five consecutive months on a year-on-year basis.

On a month-on basis, CAMPI-TMA sales increased by 29.4 percent to 27,813 units in July from the 21,498 units.

Commercial vehicle sales jumped by 49.1 percent to 21,467 units from 14,396 last year.

Passenger car sales, however, dropped 10.6 percent to 6,346 units.

“The double-digit sales growth recorded in July, driven by higher demand for new motor vehicles, brings a high degree of confidence for continued recovery of the auto industry. This mirrors the improvement on the consumer outlook for big-ticket items based on the government report,“ CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

“The improvement in the availability of jobs and employment, business recovery and containment of the pandemic are important drivers for the overall economic recovery in this post-pandemic normalcy – similarly true for the industry’s recovery as well,” he said.

From January to July, CAMPI-TMA’s commercial car sales went up by 31.1 percent to 137,338 units.

In contrast, passenger vehicle sales declined by 8.4 to 45,349 units from 49,508.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader as of end-July with a 51.47 share.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. placed second with a 14.1 percent share, while Nissan Philippines Inc. came in third with a 7.06 percent share.

Suzuki Philippines Inc. got the fourth spot with a 6.25 percent share, followed by Ford Motor Co. Philippines in fifth place with a 5.89 percent share.