PH auto sales grow 23% y-o-y in July 2017

Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (PNA photo)

MANILA, Aug. 10 –Sales of automotive vehicles in July 2017 reached 37,951 units, up 23.3 percent from 29,967 units in July last year, data released by Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed Thursday.

Sales of both passenger cars and commercial vehicles increased double-digit in July 2017.

Passenger cars’ sales for July 2017 jumped 13.1 percent to 12,701 units from 11,230 units in July 2016.

Commercial vehicles’ sales increased by 29.4 percent to 24,250 units last month compared to 18,737 units being sold in July of the previous year.

All sub-segments of commercial vehicles had positive growth in July of this year, with sales led by light commercial vehicles reaching to 15,000 units from 11,982 in July 2016, an increase of 26.2 percent.

This was followed by Asian utility vehicle with sales of 7,764 units, increasing by 34.6 percent year-on-year from 5,767 units; light trucks with 848 unit sales, up by 44.8 percent from 587 units; trucks and buses category four with 418 units, up by 81.7 percent from 230 units; and trucks and buses category five with 220 units, up by 28.7 percent from 171 units.

For January to July 2017 period, vehicle sales increased by 18 percent to 233,115 units from 197,447 units in the same period last year

“We remain cautious as we enter the second half of the year. While monthly vehicle sales appear to continue to be strong, our initial overall market outlook for the year has not changed,” CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said in a press statement.

The unit sales for the first seven months this year represents 52 percent of the 450,000-unit sales goal of the industry for the full year of 2017.

“As the original sales target by year-end looks achievable, we will continue to be vigilant with actual vehicle sales in the coming months,” Gutierrez added.

Market leaders for the January to July 2017 period were Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Isuzu, and Honda.