Motor vehicle sales hit record high

MANILA, Philippines – Sales of local vehicle assemblers hit a record-high in the first semester due to the strong demand for both passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV).

“The automotive industry has posted its highest first semester performance with sales hitting 87,226 units,” the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) said in a statement.

The sales figure is based on the combined reports of the CAMPI and Truck Manufacturers Association, Inc. (TMA).

The first-half sales were up by 20 percent compared to the 72,871 units sold in the same period last year.

The CAMPI noted that both the PC and CV segments contributed to the first semester sales performance.

PC sales for the January to June period reached 28,035 units, 28 percent higher than the 21,908 units sold in 2012.

The share of PCs in the total sales likewise increased to more than 32 percent from 30 percent for the periods under comparison, indicating an improvement in individual buying capacity.

CV sales, which accounted for 68 percent of total sales as of end-June meanwhile, rose 16 percent to 59,191 units from the previous year’s 50,963 units.

The CAMPI also noted that for the January to June period, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader with its 40 percent share, having sold 34,713 units.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. came in second with its 24 percent share or sales of 21,282 units.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. placed third, having sold 7,337 units and accounting for 8.4 percent of total sales.

For the month of June alone, combined sales of the CAMPI and TMA climbed four percent to 14,239 units from 13,697 units last year.

PC sales in June went down by 2.8 percent to 4,132 units from last year’s 4,252 units.

Sales of CVs in June meanwhile, increased percent to 10,107 units from 9,445 units a year ago.

Given the first semester performance and expected higher sales in the coming months, the CAMPI is confident that total vehicle sales in the country could reach and even exceed the initial 200,000 sales volume target for the entire year.

“In addition to the expected continuing better performance from the major players, CAMPI also looks forward to the contribution of the new members as it welcomes into its fold Eurobrands Distributor Inc., the local distributor for Peugeot brand and Berjaya Auto Philippines, Inc., for the Mazda brand,” the group said. –Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star)