Vehicle makers stick to 2016 sales target

Record sales in H1 

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s largest automotive group is keeping its full-year sales target despite a record sales in the first semester.

A joint report released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) yesterday showed vehicle sales in the first six months surged 27 percent year-on-year to 167,481 units.

Commercial vehicles composed bulk of sales with 104,921 units, while passenger cars accounted for the remaining 62,560 units.

With the industry’s robust showing in the first half, CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said the group is maintaining its sales forecast for 2016 at 350,000 units, a 10 percent growth from last year’s output.

“There has been a sustained growth since the start of the year. We remain confident in achieving our initial target for the year with continued supply of vehicles, attractive promos and affordable financing scheme, among others,” Gutierrez said.

For the month of June alone, CAMPI and TMA said the Philippine automotive industry again surpassed its highest monthly sales as it reached 32,993 units.

Sales of commercial vehicle grew 46.7 percent year-on-year to 21,042 units last month while that of passenger cars improved 21.5 percent to 11,951 units.

For commercial vehicles, sales of Category 5 or heavy-duty trucks and buses posted a remarkable jump of 91.1 percent to 193 units.

“Our ongoing infrastructure developments led to the continuous demand for such heavy-duty vehicles,” CAMPI and TMA said.

As of end-June, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the country’s automotive leader with a market share of 43.4 percent, followed by Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. with 18.1 percent.

Toyota’s sales from January to June reached 72,642 units while Mitsubishi recorded 30,372 units.

Ford Motor Philippines came in third with a 10 percent market share, followed by Isuzu Philippines Corp. and Honda Cars Philippines with 7.9 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.