Vehicle sales jump 18% in 5 months

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine automotive industry continued its ascent this year as it posted robust double-digit sales growth in the first five months.

A joint report released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) yesterday showed sales from January to May reached 158,533 units, up 17.9 percent from 134,487 units during the same period last year.

For the month of May alone, the group posted a 17 percent sales growth with 35,469 units compared to 30,317 units sold during the same month last year.

“Sustained marketing efforts continue to push sales as reflected in May sales performance,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

Commercial vehicles accounted for bulk of the sales during the five-month period at 105,030 units, while the number of passenger cars sold reached 53,503 units.

Both segments also saw an increase in sales last month compared with that of May 2016.

The passenger car segment sold 11,690 units in May, 33 percent higher from 10,893 units sold in the same month last year. The commercial vehicle segment registered a 22.4 percent growth with 23,779 units sold last month from 19,424 units in May last year.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the leader in terms of sales, accounting for a 43.67 percent market share as of end-May.

Sales of Toyota stood at 69,231 units during the five-month period, up 20 percent from 57,756 units last year.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. finished with the second largest volume sold at 28,262 units, up 15 percent from 24,601 units in the same period in 2016. Mitsubishi’s market share stood at 17.83 percent.

Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. came in at third with an 8.47 percent market share, followed by Isuzu Philippines Corp. and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 7.02 percent and seven percent, respectively.

Honda and Isuzu both registered sales growth in the five-month period at 23.4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, while Ford suffered a 3.9 percent decline year-on-year.