MANILA: In April of this year, 30,643 new vehicles were sold by members of the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) and the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI). Comparing this figure to 25,149 units sold in the same month the previous year, there has been an increase of 21.8%.

CAMPI-TMA has sold 127,927 units so far this year, a 28.1% increase from the same period last year. In a release, CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez explained the reasons behind the growth.

“Improving economic indicators, which in fact remain favorable until the end of the year, according to a government report, are an essential metric for the continued growth of the auto industry. At the same time, this is perfectly timed with the market availability of a wider range of motor vehicle models being offered by our members, responding to the growing needs of customers,” Atty. Gutierrez said.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) had the highest monthly sales in April with 14,123 units sold. Even though sales decreased by 16.5% month over month (from 16,906 in March), it controlled 46% of the market. Nevertheless, TMP sold 408 more cars than in April of last year.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC), which sold 5,613 cars last month, came in second. A total of 18.32% of all sales were made by MMPC, which suffered a 21% decrease in monthly sales from 7,109 units. It experienced a strong increase of 92% from 2,924 units sold in April 2022 to April 2023.

Ford Motor Company Philippines, Inc. came in third for the month with 2,176 units sold or 7.1% of the market. That number is 26.4% more than the total of 1,722 from March. Compared to April of the previous year, Ford's number increased by 1,391 or 56.4%.

With 2,114 automobiles sold last month, Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) is in fourth place, down from 2,861 sold in March but up from 1,700 sold in April 2022 by 24.4%.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), with 1,240 cars sold and a 4% market share in April, completes the top five. Value month over month is down 30.7% (from 1,790 units), but it is up 20.6% from April of the previous year.

“As the economic outlook remains favorable, the auto industry is optimistic to attain full recovery from the pandemic-induced challenges — well-positioned to grow to significant levels, even higher than the pre-pandemic figures. It is worth noting that the industry has already recorded this growth trajectory in the past four months compared with the 2019 levels,” Atty. Gutierrez elaborated.

Photos from File, Roy Robles

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