Vehicle sales accelerated 32.9 percent in March to 36,561 units from a year ago, keeping the country on the path to motorization.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report that sales across models and nameplates continued to deliver exemplary performance over the past three years.
“The Philippine automotive industry has, thus far, continues the path of motorization.While the first-quarter performance gives us reason to be optimistic, we are still cautious about our own target for the year,” said Campi president Rommel Gutierrez.
Except for the decline in sales of trucks and buses category 5 by 21.3 percent in March to 137 units from 174 units March 2016, all categories showed healthy performance.
Automotive sales were also up 35.2 percent month-on-month from 27,040 units in February.
Data showed that total sales in the first quarter went up 23 percent to 94,026 units from 76,473 units in the same period last year.
Both passenger car and commercial vehicle segments posted robust sales following the introduction of new models, aggressive marketing promotions and attractive financing offers.
First-quarter passenger car sales grew 7 percent to 31,951 units from 29,796 units sold in the first three months of 2016. Passenger car sales in March also increased 30 percent to 11,853 units from 9,114 units in February.
The passenger car segment, including sedans and hatchbacks, accounted for 33.98 percent of the first-quarter sales.
Sales of commercial vehicles jumped 33 percent year-on-year to 62,075 units in the first quarter from 46,677 units sold in 2016. March sales grew 38 percent to 24,708 from 17,926 units sold in February.
Top sales performers in the first quarter were Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. with a 43-percent market share followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 17 percent, Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. with 8 percent, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 7 percent and Isuzu Philippines Corp. with 6 percent.
