Vehicle sales jump 29% in 1st qtr

MANILA, Philippines - Combined sales of local car and truck assemblers reached 41,702 units in the first quarter, the highest posted for the period in history.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) said in a statement yesterday the first quarter sales of the group and the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) were up 29 percent from the 32,240 units sold in the same period last year.

The CAMPI noted that traditionally, the first quarter always shows the lowest quarter sales for any given year.

“That it has breached the 40,000 mark for the first time is a clear indication that the country is indeed on the path towards motorization,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

Supporting the higher sales for the period was the strong demand for both passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV).

PC sales, which accounted for a 33.14 percent share in total sales reached 13,821 units posting a 46-percent increase from last year.

CV sales, which had a 67-percent share of total sales meanwhile, reached 27,881 units, 23 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Within the CV category, sales of trucks and buses rose by 69 percent to 447 units compared to a year ago.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. had the biggest contribution to the first quarter sales with its 41-percent share.

This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. which had a 24-percent share, and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with its 9.51-percent share.

For the month of March alone, combined CAMPI and TMA sales climbed by 12 percent to 15,110 units from a year ago.

Sales of PCs rose 18 percent to 5,078 units in March from last year.

CV sales also increased nine percent to 10,032 units in March from last year.

Given the latest performance, the CAMPI is confident that the 200,000 sales volume target for the entire industry this year would be achieved.