Locally assembled vehicle sales up 9.5% in September

FILE: Motorists endure heavy traffic on Edsa northbound, near the Guadalupe MRT-3 station around 11 a.m. Thursday (March 31, 2022). (PNA photo by Ben Briones)

MANILA – Locally assembled vehicle sales in September 2023 increased by 9.5 percent to 38,628 units from 35,282 units sold a year ago, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) reported Sunday.

Sales of passenger cars propelled the growth last month at 9,558 units, with a double-digit expansion of 19.8 percent from 7,976 units sold in September 2022.

Commercial vehicle sales also went up by 6.5 percent year-on-year to 29,070 units from 27,306 units.

“We recorded the highest monthly sales in September, and we hope that positive consumer outlook will be sustained in Q4 (fourth quarter),” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

From January to September 2023, industry sales were higher by 26.9 percent to 314,843 units from 248,154 units in the same period last year.

The industry group targets to hit 423,000-unit sales this year, which will include sales of imported vehicles.

Passenger car sales increased by 33.2 percent to 80,009 units from 60,058 units in the same comparable period.

Likewise, commercial vehicles that were sold in the same period jumped by 24.8 percent to 234,834 units from 188,096 units last year.

All sub-segments of commercial vehicles registered growth, with number of sales led by light commercial vehicles, followed by Asian utility vehicles, light-duty trucks and buses, medium-duty trucks and buses, and heavy-duty trucks and buses.

“The auto market remained resilient since 2021 and current trend indicates that we will breach the highest pre-pandemic sales performance and achieve full industry recovery in 2023,” Gutierrez said.

Toyota has remained the best-selling brand in the country with a market share of 45.81 percent; Mitsubishi at No. 2, with 18.44 percent market share; followed by Ford, with 7.33 percent share; Nissan, with 6.36 percent share; and Suzuki, with 4.28 percent share.