By means of Justine Irish D. Table, Reporter
PHILIPPINE car sales Auto sales grew 6.6% year-on-year in August, despite a decline in passenger car sales, according to an industry report.
A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) show that car sales in August increased to 39,155 units from 36,714 units in the same month last year.
Month on month, car sales fell 0.4% from the 39,331 units sold in July.
August sales were dampened by a 5.6% decline in passenger car sales to 9,529 units, compared with 10,094 units sold a year ago.
Month on month, passenger car sales fell 12.76%, compared to 10,923 units in July.
However, this was oFoffset by the 11.3% annual jump in commercial vehicle sales to 29,626 units in August, compared to 26,620 a year ago. Commercial vehicles accounted for 75.66% of total industry sales.
Month on month, commercial vehicle sales increased by 4.3%.
Broken down, light commercial vehicle sales rose 3.3% year-on-year to 21,812 units, while Asian commercial vehicle (AUV) sales rose 53.5% to 6,829 units.
Medium truck sales fell 4.9% to 312, while heavy truck sales fell 64.8% to 45. Light truck and bus sales rose 5.2% to 628 units.
For the FIn the first eight months, car sales rose 10.3% to 304,765 units, compared to 276,215 units a year ago, CAMPI-TMA data show.
Passenger car sales rose 14% to 80,327 units in the January to August period, while commercial vehicle sales rose 9.1% to 224,438 units.
Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the launch of new cars and improved employment data are driving auto sales growth in recent months.
“Newer models, more brands, more electric and hybrid vehicles [launches]Favorable demographic developments and improving employment data in recent months continue to drive vehicle demand,” Ricafort said in a Viber message.
“[This was] reflected in the double-digit growth of consumer loans, especially auto loans, which are defying relatively higher interest rates,” he added.
A preliminary report from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas shows that consumer loans to residents rose 24.3% to P1.42 trillion at the end of July, while auto loans rose 19.9% to P424.93 billion.
“In the coming months, lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve and local governments could increase demand for auto loans as well as car purchases,” Ricafort said.
In August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut its key interest rate for the first time in almost four years. The benchmark interest rate was cut by 25 basis points to 6.25%, from a nearly 17-year high of 6.5%.
Toby Allan C. Arce, head of sales trading at Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc., said auto industry sales were driven by commercial vehicles.
“These vehicles are more responsive to the needs of businesses, logistics and transportation, and reflect a shift towards utility and functionality, possibly in response to increased demand for delivery services, logistics support or business expansions in the post-pandemic era,” he said Arc. via Viber.
“The passenger car segment experienced a noticeable decline in August. However, continued strong performance in the commercial sector has more than offset this decline, indicating that companies, not individuals, are leading the market recovery,” he added.
In the FFor the first eight months, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. market leader with sales of 140,654 units, an increase of 10.9% from 126,795 units a year ago. Toyota sales accounted for 46.15% of the industry total.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. was in second place with a market share of 19.2%. Mitsubishi sales rose 16% to 58,513 units in the first eight months.
In third place was Ford Motor Co. Phils., Inc., where sales fell 3.8% to 18,961 units. This accounted for 6.22% of the industry.
The top five was completed by Nissan Philippines, Inc., whose sales rose 2.2% to 18,270 units, while Suzuki Phils., Inc. recorded an 11.7% increase in sales to 13,206 copies.
Last month, CAMPI increased its sales target from an initial 468,300 to 500,000. If achieved, this will be the highest annual sales in the industry to date and represent a 16.3% increase over last year’s 429,807 units sold.