Vehicle sales gain more mileage in Feb

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine automotive industry sustained its growth momentum in February despite lower sales posted by some major car brands.

Vehicle sales in February rose 7.5 percent to 27,040 units from 25,150 units in the same month last year.

This brings total vehicles sales in the first two months of 2017 to 57,465 units, 17. 4 percent higher than the 48,958 units sold during the same period last year.

Compared to the previous month, however, car sales in February was 11.1 percent lower from the 30,425 units recorded in January 2017.

“February sales growth was modest compared to the previous month. Despite supply limitations and fewer calendar days, the automotive industry still continues to serve and satisfy the demand of the market,” Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) president Rommel Gutierrez said.

Based on a joint report released by CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) yesterday, most vehicle segments performed well last month, except for passenger cars which saw a 7.2-percent year-on-year drop in sales to 9,114 units.

The commercial vehicle segment, however, collectively posted a 16.9-percent increase in sales to 17,926 units from 15,331 units in February last year.

For the two-month period ending February, meanwhile, the commercial segment accounted for 37,367 units or 65.03 percent of total industry sales, while passenger cars accounted for 20,098 units for a 34.97 percent share.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. maintained its market leading position with a market share of 47.26 percent.

Toyota sold 27,157 units during the two-month period, up 39.5 percent from 19,474 units last year.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines was second with a 16.86-percent market share, Philippines Inc. with a 6.99 percent share.

Mitsubishi’s sales, however, dipped slightly in the first two months of the year to 9,687 units from 9,737 units in the same month in 2016.

Ford likewise recorded a 21.7 percent year-on-year decrease in sales during the two-month period, finishing with 4,019 units.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. and Isuzu Philippines Corp. ranked fourth and fifth in terms of market share with 6.75 percent and 5.62 percent, respectively.

Honda’s sales rose 5.2 percent to 3,877 units as of end-February, while that of Isuzu plunged 32 percent year-on-year to 3,232 units.

Other CAMPI and TMA member companies that saw a sales decline for the January to February period are Asian Carmakers Corp. (BMW), Columbian Autocar Corp., Dreamco Automotive Co. Inc., and MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corp.