Vehicle sales jumped 30.3 percent year-on-year to hit a new record in April, two industry groups said Wednesday.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report members sold 27,697 vehicles in April, up from 21,259 units in April 2015. It was the fastest growth in automotive sales this year.
“April sales was beyond expectation compared to sales trend based on seasonality,” said Campi president Rommel Gutierrez.
Data showed total sales in the first four months increased 23.8 percent to 104,176 units from 84,141 units registered in the same period in 2015.
Both passenger cars and commercial vehicles posted significant increases in sales in April. Sales of passenger cars or sedans went up by 19 percent to 9,920 units from 8,331 units sold a year ago.
Sales of commercial vehicles grew 37.5 percent to 17,777 units from 12,928 units delivered in the same period last year.
Campi attributed the strong sales to stable demand for new models supplemented by aggressive summer promotions and other marketing support.
It said within the commercial vehicle segment, there was no slowdown in sales, as all categories surpassed their previous records.
Sales of category 1 AUV rose 28 percent to 4,720 units in April from 3,698 units in the same month in 2015.
Category 2 light commercial vehicles went up 41 percent to 12,233 units from 10,876 units in the previous year, while Category 3 light trucks posted a 4-percent increase to 466 units.
Category 4 and Category 5 trucks and buses increased 13.1 percent and 148 percent to 207 units and 151 units, respectively.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. retained market leadership with 41.52-percent share of total sales, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 18.63 percent. Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. was third with 10.59 percent while Isuzu Philippines Corp. ranked fourth with 8.45 percent. Honda Cars Philippines Inc. was fifth with 7.15-percent market share.
Another industry group, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, said members sold 21,160 units in the January-March period, up 151 percent from 8,434 units sold a year ago.
Avid president Ma. Fe Agudo-Perez said the group was challenged to maintain if not surpass the recent sales feat, as the Philippine automotive industry continued to expand to meet the rising demand.
“As the Philippines continues to be Asia’s bright spot, Avid registered a triple-digit growth of 151 percent in the first quarter of 2016. This growth will further motivate Avid to give customers value-laden and pioneering products and services, which drive at the hearts of the Filipino people,” she said.