Vehicle sales rose 3.8 percent in October to 34,397 units from 33,150 units a year ago, two industry groups said Thursday.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said deliveries also climbed 8.1 percent from 31,820 units in September. This was the highest monthly sales growth this year.
“The current market demand for vehicles along with creative and aggressive sales promotion efforts give us a positive outlook as we aim to sustain the growth trend for the remaining months of the year,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement.
Data also showed vehicle sales in the first 10 months increased 2.5 percent to 301,761 units this year from 294,311 units in 2018.
“We remain positive that our industry target for the end of the year will be achieved as all brands remain committed to provide innovative mobility solutions to the Filipino people,” Gutierrez said.
The two industry groups said that on a monthly basis, passenger car sales went up by 3.72 percent to 10,083 units in October 2019 from 9,721 units in September while commercial vehicle sales improved 10 percent to 24,314 units from 22,099 units.
Among the commercial vehicles, the light and medium truck category saw sales decline 2.3 percent and 0.8 percent to 734 and 385 units, respectively.
Light commercial vehicle sales went up 4.5 percent to 18,271 units from 16,488 units while Asian utility vehicles increased 43.1 percent to 4,780 from 3,341 units. Heavy-duty trucks posted 9.9-percent sales growth to 144 units.
Gutierrez said the recent sales figures indicated a continuous market demand for vehicles and a clear upward trend for the industry in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Top sellers in October were Toyota Motors Philippines Corp., Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., Nissan Philippines Inc., Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. and Suzuki Philippines Inc.