Amid concerns about traffic and a crackdown on street-side parking, new-car sales continue to trend upwards.
In a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), total vehicle sales in the first seven months of 2019 reached 205,945 units, 3.16 percent higher compared to the 199,628 units sold during the same period last year.
Despite the uptick in total vehicle sales, passenger car (PC) sales dipped by 1.8 percent from 62,959 units from last year to 61,815 units. However, PC sales grew by 34.7 percent in July, selling 9,397 units from last year’s 6,975 in the same period.
Sales of commercial vehicles rose by 5.5 percent to 144,130 from 136,669 the previous year.
In the month of July, the combined sales of CAMPI and TMP posted 13.5-percent growth, selling 31,810 units from 28,038 units recorded in 2018.
Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. is still the leader in vehicle sales, cornering 42.52 percent market share in July. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. holds the second spot with 17.47 percent followed by Nissan Philippines with 12 percent market share.
Taking the fourth spot is Suzuki Philippines Inc. with 6.37 percent market share then Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. with 6.36 percent.
“It is noteworthy that positive factors such as continued and strong sales campaigns and stable supply of units have outweighed the unfavorable effects of the off-peak season to the overall sales growth. Historically, July is considered as one of the lean months of the industry. Nonetheless, we are optimistic that if we are able to sustain this growth trend, we will be able to exceed our sales performance of last year,” CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez said.
