Sales of motor vehicles in the Philippines sustained a double-digit growth in May, as buyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates and prices ahead of the passage of a bill imposing higher tax rates.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report that purchases of vehicles increased 17 percent in May to 35,469 units from 30,317 units sold in the same month last year.
“Sustained marketing efforts continue to push sales as reflected in May sales performance,” said Campi president Rommel Gutierrez.
Data showed that both passenger cars and commercial vehicles performed well during the month. The PC segment sold 11,690 units in May, up by 7.3 percent from 10,893 units sold in the same month last year.
The CV segment achieved a 22.4-percent growth with 23,779 units sold in May from 19,424 units sold a year earlier.
Most categories within the CV segment set sales records in May.
The biggest sales among the categories is Category 2 or the light commercial vehicle segment that went up 16.5 percent to 14,984 units in May from 12,867 units sold in the same period last year.
Category 5 (trucks and buses) is the only category that generated slower sales with 9 percent decline to 131 units from 144 units sold in May 2016.
Total sales in the first five months also grew 17.9 percent to 158,533 units from 134,487 units in the same period in 2016.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. continued to lead the industry with a 43.67-percent market share. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. followed with 17.83 percent.
Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. ranked third with 8.47-percent market share while Isuzu Philippines Corp. was fourth with 7.02 percent. Honda Cars Philippines Inc. was fifth with 7-percent market share.