The Philippine vehicle market maintained its strong growth of more than 10% in the first seven months of the year, increasing by 31.1%.
According to the latest data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), new motor vehicle sales reached 239,501 units from January to July, higher than the 182,687 units in the same period last year.
CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said that the auto industry is showing remarkable strength despite the consumer spending slowdown due to the inflation risks.
Gutierrez said that the auto industry is keeping its positive growth trend as sales of new motor vehicles recorded a continuous year-on-year growth for the past 17 consecutive months, since March 2022.
Gutierrez said that the industry hopes to keep this trend for the year. He said that the auto industry is motivated to expand its product and service offerings to the consumers and businesses alike, as seeing this ongoing growing demand for new motor vehicles is a welcome and significant part of growth development.
In July alone, vehicle sales increased by 33.3 percent to 37,086 units.
The monthly sales growth was led by passenger car sales, which increased by 49.8 percent to 9,509 units. Commercial vehicle sales also rose by 28.5 percent in July to 27,577 units. Passenger car sales also drove the sales growth from January to July, rising by 33.1 percent to 60,357 units.
Similarly, commercial vehicle sales increased by 30.4 percent to 179,144 units.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader in the first seven months, accounting for a 45.99 percent market share as it sold 110,158 units. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. ranked second, with an 18.3 percent share as it sold 43,831 units. Ford Motor Co. Phils. Inc. grabbed the third spot, with a 6.94 percent market share, selling 16,611 units.
Nissan Philippines landed in the fourth spot, with a 6.54 percent market share, as it sold 15,674 units. Suzuki Phils. Inc. closed the top five, with a 4.25 percent market share, selling 10,174 units.
For this year, members of CAMPI and TMA are targeting a 10 to 15 percent growth, with sales projected at 395,000 units. In 2022, vehicle sales grew 31.3 percent to 352,596 units.
Gutierrez earlier attributed the optimistic outlook for the year to the pent-up demand for new vehicles and improving supply.
He said earlier that the supply continues to improve, and in fact they have many models coming this year. So that will really boost sales.
He said automotive brands are preparing for this year's full recovery.
