Total PH auto sales reaches 352,596 units in 2022

MANILA: A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) revealed that the nation's total motor vehicle sales increased by 31.3 percent in 2022 to 352,596 units.

That figure is compared with the 268,488 units sold in 2021 and surpassed the forecasted 336,000-unit full year sales.

As remarked by CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez, the market’s surpassion of the 2022 CAMPI-TMA sales forecast points to a “strong evidence that the industry has recovered from the impact of the pandemic and other external challenges.”

The increase in sales in December to 37,259 units, or 33.8 percent more than the 27,846 units registered in December 2021, helped the overall year's sales performance. According to Gutierrez, the biggest monthly sales recorded by CAMPI-TMA were in December 2022.

“It is worth mentioning that the 37,000-level figure was recorded back in 2017. Achieving it again brings us renewed optimism for a better year ahead for the auto industry. The continued expansion of the economy, creation of new jobs and opportunities is just as important as ensuring that no pandemic disruption occurs anew this year. Nonetheless, the industry will continue to capitalize on the growing market demand for new motor vehicles,” Gutierrez further added.

All vehicle segments and categories experienced positive growth, according to the data, with the exception of large trucks and buses (Category V), which experienced a loss of 21.1 percent.
Sales of commercial vehicles increased by 45.6 percent, from 183,228 units in 2021 to 266,699 units in 2022.

The passenger automobile segment, however, had a meager 0.7 percent rise from 85,262 units in 2021 to a final tally of 85,897 units, or flat growth.

Among the segments that fall under the commercial vehicle sector, sales of light commercial vehicles, also known as sports utility vehicles (SUVs), registered the biggest growth rate of 48.4 percent to 209,728 units from 141,321 units.

Meanwhile, sales of Asian utility vehicles also grew by 45.7 percent to 46,877 units, compared to the 32,181 units tallied the previous year.

Contributing to the 5,340-unit sales were light trucks, whose sales rose by 8.9 percent in contrast to the 4,904 units sold in 2021. In the Category IV trucks and buses sector, 3,865 units of trucks and buses were counted, which is a 4.6 percent increase over the 3,695 units before.

The largest contribution came from Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), with 174,106 units, or 34.3 percent more than the 129,667 units in 2021. TMP currently holds 49.38 percent of the market.

The second-largest contributor, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp (MMPC), increased from 37,548 units in 2021 to 53,211 units in 2022, a growth of 41.7%. Ford Philippines completed the top three with 24,710 units, a 23.5 percent increase over the 20,055 units sold in 2021. A total of 7.01 percent of the local market is also accounted for by Ford Philippines.

In fourth standing is Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) with 21,222 units, and Suzuki Philippines Inc (SPH) came in fifth with 19,942 sold units.

Recently, Toyota became the most searched-for automobile brand worldwide in 2022, according to Compare the Market Australia.

The most popular brands in 155 countries were identified by Compare The Market in their fifth iteration of their yearly survey, which included data from Google Trends for 2022.

Toyota, the dominant Japanese automaker, continues to lead all automobile searches in 2022, maintaining its lead from 2021 and 2020. Toyota accounted for 44.5% of all searches, an increase of around 10% from the previous year, and was the most searched-for automobile brand in 69 of the 155 nations.

Toyota retained in first place, as Mercedes and BMW both held onto their spots on the podium from prior campaigns.

Photos from Foton Motor Philippines, Inc. (FMPI), Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), and Roy Robles

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