Auto sales in the Philippines rose 8.5% year-on-year in November, mainly driven by demand for commercial vehicles, an industry report showed.
A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) show that vehicle sales in November increased to 40,898 units from 37,683 units in the same month in 2023.
Month on month, car sales increased by 2.2% compared to the 40,003 units sold in October.
Sales of commercial vehicles, which accounted for 76% of total industry sales, rose 10.5% to 31,062 units in November, compared to 28,114 units a year ago.
Month on month, commercial vehicle sales grew 3.7%, compared to 29,959 units in October.
Broken down, light commercial vehicle sales rose 3.2% year-on-year to 22,115 units, while Asian commercial vehicle (AUV) sales rose 40.7% to 7,890 units and light truck and bus sales grew 2.5% to 665 units.
However, sales of medium-duty trucks and buses fell 4.8% to 318 units, while those of heavy-duty trucks fell 22.1% to 74 units.
On the other hand, sales of passenger cars, which accounted for a quarter of the sector’s total, rose 2.8% to 9,836 units in November, compared with 9,569 units a year ago.
Month on month, passenger car sales fell 2.07%, compared to the 10,044 units sold in October.
In the first eleven months of the year, car sales rose 8.8% to 425,208 units, compared to 390,654 units in the same period in 2023.
“This growth is reflected in the distribution of market share, with passenger cars representing 26.02% of the market with 110,645 units sold, an increase of 11% compared to the previous year,” CAMPI-TMA said in a statement.
Commercial vehicle sales rose 8.1% to 314,563 units in the January-November period, compared to 290,989 units in the same period in 2023, mainly driven by sales of AUVs.
CAMPI-TMA noted that the AUV segment “demonstrated remarkable growth” with year-to-date sales of 74,989 units at the end of November, up 37.3% year-on-year.
Light commercial vehicles, classified in category II, increased by 1.4% to 229,313 units in the eleven-month period.
Sales of heavy trucks and buses fell 33.5% to 638 units at the end of November.
Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said November’s annual increase in car sales was a good indicator of the Philippine economy’s growth.
“The growth rates of local vehicle sales and production remained above the GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate as we have seen in recent months… (These) are good signals for the continued growth and recovery of the Philippine economy,” said Mr Ricafort. in a Viber message.
“The lack of mass transportation systems in most parts of the country has also increased the need for more Filipinos to purchase vehicles, with more brands and models to choose from amid increased competition from Asian or global automakers,” he added to.
In the period January to November, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. market leader with a share of 46.51%. Toyota sales rose 9.6% to 197,756 units at the end of November, compared to 180,480 units a year ago.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. ranked second with a market share of 19.14%. Sales of Mitsubishi vehicles increased by 13.3% from 71,833 to 81,401 units in the first eleven months.
Ford Motor Co. Phils., Inc. ranked third despite a 9.9% drop in sales to 25,770 units at the end of November, compared to 28,586 a year ago. Ford’s sales accounted for 6.06% of the industry.
The top five was rounded out by Nissan Philippines, Inc., whose sales fell 0.9% to 24,516, while Suzuki Phils., Inc. posted an 11% sales increase to 18,515 units. Nissan had a market share of 5.77%, while Suzuki accounted for 4.35% of the market.
CAMPI-TMA data also showed that 16 out of 31 companies saw a drop in sales at the end of November.
CAMPI had previously set a target of 500,000 units sold by 2024. If achieved, this would be 16.3% higher than last year’s 429,807 units sold and the vehicle industrytry’s highest sales to date. — AHHalili