Vehicle sales up 13% in 4 months

MANILA, Philippines — Sales of local car and truck assemblers accelerated by  41 percent in April from a year ago as consumer demand improved amid COVID-19  cases.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) released yesterday showed their total vehicle sales reached 25,149 units in April, up from 17,843 units in the same month last year.

“The April sales performance reflects the continued containment of the pandemic, underpinned by the improved consumer demand for big-ticket items compared with last year,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

Compared to the 29,685 units sold in March, CAMPI-TMA’s sales in April, however, were down 15.3 percent.

Passenger car (PC) sales rose by 12.4 percent to 6,259 units from 5,570 units.

Commercial vehicle (CV) sales went up by 53.9 percent to 18,890 units from 12,273 units.

For the January to April period, CAMPI-TMA’s total sales climbed by 13.3 percent to 99,903 units from 88,155 units.

On the other hand, CAMPI-TMA’s PC sales declined  by 10.4 percent to 24,582 units  from 27,425 units.

CV sales grew by 24 percent to 75,321 units in the  first four months compared to 60,730 units a year ago.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. maintained its market leadership as of end-April with a 50.99 percent share.

This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. in second place with a 13.28 percent share, and Nissan Philippines at third spot with a 7.59 percent share.

Suzuki Philippines Inc. placed fourth with a 6.3 percent share, while Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. took the fifth spot with a 6.03 percent share.

“The government’s economic growth target of seven percent to nine percent this year, driven by the overall improvement in employment and domestic demand will play a critical role in the economy and the industry’s recovery alike,” Gutierrez said.