Car, truck sales up 23% in 2015

MANILA, Philippines – The local automotive industry sustained its strong growth, rising by nearly a quarter last year to 288,609 units, mainly driven by the robust performance of the passenger car segment.

Based on a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), vehicle sales grew 23 percent from 234,747 units sold in 2014.

For December alone, sales increased by 25.1 percent to 26,679 units.

“The year 2015 is yet another milestone year. The industry was able to maintain the growth momentum of previous years. We again surpassed our annual target of 272,000 units for CAMPI,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

The group of the country’s largest vehicle industry said most categories performed well in 2015, a trend seen throughout the year.

Passenger car sales reached a record 116,381 units, up 28.9 percent year-on-year.

“Sales grew in this segment as new car models were introduced and financing strategies were intensified throughout the year,” the report said.

Sales of commercial vehicles saw a 19.2 percent rise in sales to 172,228 units.

Among commercial vehicles, category 5 or heavy-duty vehicles posted the biggest growth of 144.8 percent year-on-year.

“This category was able to double its performance because of refleeting programs and new infrastructure programs,” the report said.

In terms of volume, however, light commercial vehicles (LCV) had the most number of units sold last year at 112,545 units, followed by Asian utility vehicles (AUV) at 50,977 units.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader, accounting for a 43.32 percent share followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (18.74 percent), and Ford Motor Co. (8.79 percent).

Isuzu Philippines Corp. and Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. ranked fourth and fifth, with a market share of 7.82 percent and 6.69 percent, respectively.

CAMPI and TMA sales comprise 85 to 90 percent of total vehicle sales in the Philippines while the remaining comes from members of the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID).

Total industry sales target last year was at 310,000 units but it is expected to hit 320,000 units on robust demand all year long. –Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)