Vehicle sales zoom to year-high in October

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s group of vehicle assemblers achieved its highest monthly sales for the year in October, up nearly four percent from a year ago amid higher demand for both passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV). 

Data released yesterday showed combined sales of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) reached 34,397 units in October, up 3.8 percent from 33,150 units in the same month last year. 

This is the first time monthly sales reached over 34,000 units this year.

 “This is an indication of a continuous market demand for vehicles and a clear upward trend for the industry as it begins the fourth quarter of 2019,” CAMPI said. 

PC sales reached 10,083 units in October, 6.8 percent higher than the 9,444 units sold in the same month a year ago. 

CV sales also rose 2.6 percent to 24,314 units in October from 23,706 units in the previous year. 

For the January to October period, CAMPI and TMA’s sales climbed 2.5 percent to 301,761 units from 294,311 units last year. 

PC sales, however, were down slightly to 90,400 units as of end-October from 90,626 units a year ago. 

CV sales reached 211,361 units for the January to October period, 3.8 percent more than the 203,685 units sold in the previous year. 

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the top selling brand for the January to October period as it cornered 43.25 percent of the market. 

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. placed second with 17.07 percent share, followed by Nissan Philippines Inc. which ranked third with its 12.15 percent share. 

Completing the top five are Suzuki Philippines Inc. with a 6.51 percent share, and Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. with 5.97 percent. 

CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said the latest growth performance is seen to help achieve this year’s sales target. 

 “The current market demand for vehicles, along with creative and aggressive sales promotion efforts, give us a positive outlook as we aim to sustain the growth trend for the remaining months of the year,” he said. 

 “We remain positive that our industry target for the end of the year will be achieved as all brands remain committed to provide innovative mobility solutions for the Filipino people,” he said. 

The group is looking to grow sales by 10 percent this year to reverse last year’s sales decline following government’s imposition of higher taxes on automobiles. 

Combined CAMPI and TMA sales were down 16 percent to 357,410 units last year from 425,673 units in 2017.