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SALES of
various vehicles from January to April grew by 15
percent to 39,981 units despite the rise in fuel prices,
according to a joint report released by the Chamber of
Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi)
and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
For the
month of April alone, vehicle sales grew by 28 percent
to 11,078 units, year-on-year.
“The
Philippine auto industry, thus far, is bucking the
general trend seen in other such places as the United
States, where rising fuel prices in that country,
coupled with a softening economy, resulted in a downward
trend in commercial vehicle [CV] sales,” said Campi
president Elizabeth Lee.
Sales of
CV, Lee noted, remain strong, cornering some 66 percent
of total vehicle sales nationwide. Year-to-date sales of
CVs registered a 16.2-percent growth on the back of a
sustained growth in the light-commercial vehicle (LCV)
segment comprising pickup trucks, vans and compact
sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).
While
passenger-car (PC) sales declined slightly for the month
of April, year-to-date sales of PCs generated an
increase of 12.1 percent.
“Auto
players continue to support sales with dealer incentives
promos to the benefit of buyers. Fleet accounts also
factored in the sales for the month of April. The
industry outlook continues to be positive for the year,”
said Lee.
In terms
of total vehicle sales, Toyota Motors Philippines Corp.
garnered the top spot, selling 14,160 vehicles from
January to April. Toyota cornered 35.4 percent of the
total market for vehicles.
The
second top grosser during the period was Mitsubishi
Motors Philippines Corp. which registered total vehicle
sales of 5,345 units, or 23.9 percent higher than what
it registered in January to April last year.
Mitsubishi’s market share came in at 13.4 percent.
Honda
Cars Philippines Inc. was the third top seller of
vehicles for the period, selling 5,269 units from
January to April, representing an increase of 2 percent
over its sales last year. Honda cornered 13.2 percent of
the domestic market for vehicles. |
