Vehicle sales increased 18.4 percent in the first seven months to 182,687 from 154,265 units year-on-year despite supply chain disruption, two industry groups said Monday.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report combined sales of members climbed 29.4 percent for the month of July to 27,813 from 21,498 units a year ago.
CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez noted the higher demand for new motor vehicles in July that led to the double-digit sales growth and brought a high degree of confidence on the recovery of the automotive industry in the Philippines.
“This mirrors the improvement on the consumer outlook for big-ticket items based on the government report,” said Gutierrez.
Industry data showed that commercial vehicle sales jumped 31.1 percent in the seven-month period to 137,338 from 104,757 units a year earlier. The segment also registered 49.1-percent increase in sales in July to 21,467 units.
The robust performance of commercial vehicles offset the decline in passenger car sales this year. Demand for passenger cars, made up of sedans and hatchbacks, fell 8.4 percent in seven months to 45,349 units as buyers preferred vehicles with higher ground clearance. Sales in July also went down by 10.9 percent to 6,346 units.
CAMPI expressed optimism that the supply situation would soon correct as brands started to recover from the pandemic, bringing in new units and new models. The lockdown in China and the war in Ukraine affected the supply of automotive parts and electronics this year, resulting in delayed deliveries of new vehicles.
“The improvement in the availability of jobs and employment, business recovery and containment of the pandemic are important drivers for the overall economic recovery in this post-pandemic normalcy, similarly true for the industry’s recovery as well,” Gutierrez said.