Auto sales jumped 17.3% in October

Vehicle sales went up 17.3 percent in October, the fastest growth reported for the past few months, according to joint data from car and truck manufacturers. The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and The Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said that their member companies sold 36,511 units in October, more than the 31,132 units sold in the same month last year.

A check on past reports would show that this was their fastest growth in terms of sales since July this year when year-on-year sales went up 23.3 percent. The fastest year-on-year growth so far was recorded in March this year wherein the increase reached 32.9 percent.

This brings car sales for the first 10 months of the year to 339,380 units, a 16-percent jump from the same period in 2016 that saw sales of 292,502 units, data showed. The industry is targeting to sell 450,000 units by the end of this year.

According to Campi president Rommel Gutierrez, the growth in sales last month was driven by the continued surge in demand on top of promotional support for key models.

“The outlook for the succeeding months remains strong, driven by the good sales performance of key models from major players. In addition to this is the competitive promotional support and marketing activities to further push vehicles,” he said in a statement.

The latest growth figures come amid plans to increase the excise tax slapped on automobiles, a move which would consequently raise car prices at the expense of temporarily hurting demand. Some car company officials have expected that such anticipation among consumers would be a factor that could help boost sales for the year.

For the month of October alone, commercial vehicles accounted for most of the growth as sales increased 26.4 percent to 24,825 units from 19,633 units, previously.

On the other hand, passenger sales, which have a market share of more than 32 percent last month, grew only 1.6 percent in October to 11,686 units from 11,499 units, previously.

Both segments grew from January to October. The sale of commercial vehicles went up 22.9 percent to 226, 039 units, accounting for more than 66 percent of vehicles sold in the first 10 months of the year. Passenger car sales went up 4.4 percent to 113,341 units.

Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. is still the market leader so far, accounting for 44 percent of the market year-to-date. –Roy Stephen C. Canivel