PH auto industry on track to meet target after jump in vehicle sales

WITH 234,951 vehicles sold from January to October, the Philippine auto industry is on pace to post its best year since breaching the 200,000-unit sales mark in 2013 and reaching a sales record of 270,000 units in 2014.

 

Thanks to pent-up consumer demand, flexible financial options, and the arrival of new and refreshed models, the country’s automotive players only need to sell 75,049 until December to meet—or more likely exceed—the 310,000-unit sales target that the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) set for 2015.

 

“We are beyond grateful for the strong patronage and trust of our market especially with the new or refreshed products lined up for them. The exceptionally strong sales we have achieved for the past months, especially the unprecedented growth in September and October, prove that the automotive industry is continuously growing and aiming for better results. With this, we are going to keep an eye on the remaining two months of this year and expect to deliver increased sales,” said Rommel Gutierrez, president of Campi, which monitors automotive sales activities and other industry concerns.

 

Thanks to a phenomenal 28.7-percent growth posted in October (28,667 units versus versus October 2014’s 22,278 units), the industry was able to attain a 22.4-percent growth from January to October 2015 (compared with the 192,005 units sold during the same period last year).

 

Top performers

 

Toyota Motor Philippines remained the industry’s top performer, cornering 43.28 percent of the market. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. followed with a 19.07-percent market share. Retaining its third spot is Ford Group Philippines with 8.33 percent. Isuzu Philippines Corp., with 7.8-percent market share, edged out Honda Cars Philippines Inc., which chalked a very close 6.83-percent market share.

 

Passenger car sales in October made an impressive 25.2-percent growth as 11,235 units were sold compared with October 2014’s 8,975 unit sales.

 

More impressive is the commercial vehicle sales in October that improved by 31 percent, with 17,432 units sold compared with the 13,303 units sold in September 2014.

 

The sector’s growth in October is due to strong performance of light trucks as well as Category 5 (heavy-duty trucks and buses) vehicles. Light truck sales achieved a 31-percent growth as 495 units were sold compared with 378 units in October 2014.

 

Meanwhile Category 5 sales jumped by 207.3 percent as 126 units were sold compared to the 41 units sold in the same month last year. Demand remained strong from construction companies who are undertaking refleeting as well as getting new projects.

 

Can afford to buy cars

 

Gutierrez lauded the Philippine economy that has been growing at an annual clip of more than 5 percent as well as the increasing number of people who can now afford cars. He also noted the country’s booming business process outsourcing industry that has improved the income levels of young workers and enabled them to afford their first ride.

 

“We should also salute the country’s other growing industries like pharmaceutical, food, passenger transport and energy businesses that normally provide car plans to their employees.

 

“Likewise, the increasing number of SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) and microenterprises also help increase the demand for AUVs, SUVs as well as light commercial vehicles. With these developments, we are confident of meeting our forecast for 2015,” Gutierrez added.