Vehicle sales rose 19.5 percent in May to 26,370 units from 22,062 units in the same month last year, two industry groups said Wednesday.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report the improving economy and business conditions bolstered sales in May.
“The economic recovery from the ripple effects of the pandemic and the overall robust domestic demand are major contributing factors to the continued improvement of the automotive sales performance recorded in May,” said CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez.
“Based on our data, the industry has already recorded double-digit percentage growths for three consecutive months on a year-over-year basis, indicating that recovery is underway,” he said.
Data showed that commercial vehicle sales climbed 34.2 percent in May to 19,946 units from 14,463 units a year earlier. Passenger car sales slowed down 8.4 percent to 5,964 from 7,599 units.
Total sales in the first five months grew 14.6 percent to 126,273 units from 110,217 units in the same period in 2021.
The commercial vehicle segment posted a growth of 26 percent to 94,727 units from 75,193 units, while passenger car sales fell 9.9 percent to 31,546 from 35,024 units.
The industry groups said that on a monthly basis, car sales went up by 4.9 percent from 25,149 units in April. Both passenger car and commercial vehicle registered growths of 11.26 percent from 6,259 units and 2.7 percent from 18,890 units, respectively.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader with a share of 62 percent in May, followed by Mitsubishi Motor Philippines with 12.84 percent.
Nissan Philippines Inc. placed third with 7.58 percent market share, while Suzuki Phils. Inc. ranked fourth with 6.46 percent. Ford Motor Company Phils. Inc. was fifth with 5.5 percent.
“The industry is optimistic for a sustained economic growth anchored on domestic demand amid the continued containment of the pandemic, all-important to the full recovery of the industry,” Gutierrez said.