Vehicle sales up 8.5% in November

VEHICLE SALES in the Philippines jumped by 8.5% year on year in November, mainly driven by demand for commercial vehicles, an industry report.

In a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed vehicle sales rose to 40,898 units in November from 37,683 units in the same month in 2023.

Month on month, vehicle sales inched up by 2.2% from the 40,003 units sold in October.

Sales of commercial vehicles, which made up 76% of the industry’s total sales, jumped by 10.5% to 31,062 units in November from 28,114 units a year ago.

Month on month, sales of commercial vehicles grew by 3.7% from 29,959 units in October.

Broken down, light commercial vehicle sales rose by 3.2% year on year to 22,115 units, while sales of Asian utility vehicles (AUV) jumped by 40.7% to 7,890 units and sales of light-duty trucks and buses grew by 2.5% to 665 units.

However, sales of medium-duty trucks and buses dropped by 4.8% to 318 units, while those of heavy trucks declined by 22.1% to 74 units.

On the other hand, sales of passenger cars, which accounted for a fourth of the industry’s total, rose by 2.8% to 9,836 units in November from 9,569 units a year ago.

Month on month, passenger car sales slipped by 2.07% from 10,044 units sold in October.

In the first 11 months of the year, vehicle sales increased by 8.8% to 425,208 units from 390,654 units in the same period in 2023.   

“This growth is reflected in the market share distribution, where passenger cars accounted for 26.02% of the market with 110,645 units sold, an 11% rise from the previous year,” CAMPI-TMA said in a statement.

Sales of commercial vehicles went up by 8.1% to 314,563 units in the January-to-November period from 290,989 units in the same period in 2023, mainly driven by AUV sales.

CAMPI-TMA noted the AUV segment “exhibited remarkable growth” with year-to-date sales of 74,989 units as of end-November, up 37.3% year on year.

Light commercial vehicles, classified under Category II, rose by 1.4% to 229,313 units in the 11-month period.

Sales of heavy-duty trucks and buses plunged by 33.5% to 638 units as of end-November.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the annual increase in vehicle sales in November was a good indicator of the Philippine economy’s growth.

“Local vehicle sales and production growth rates (have) sustained above GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate, as seen in recent months… (These) are good signals on the further growth and recovery of the Philippine economy,” Mr. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The lack of mass transport system in most parts of the country also increased the need for more Filipinos to purchase vehicles, with more brands and models to choose from amid increased competition from Asian or global automakers,” he added.

In the January-to-November period, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader with 46.51% share. Toyota sales jumped by 9.6% to 197,756 units as of end-November from 180,480 units a year ago.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. ranked second with a market share of 19.14%. Sales of Mitsubishi vehicles rose by 13.3% for the first 11 months to 81,401 units from 71,833 units.

Ford Motor Co. Phils., Inc. ranked third despite a 9.9% decline in sales to 25,770 units as of end-November from 28,586 a year ago. Ford’s sales accounted for 6.06% of the industry.

Rounding out the top five were Nissan Philippines, Inc., whose sales edged lower by 0.9% to 24,516, while Suzuki Phils., Inc. posted an 11% rise in sales to 18,515 units. Nissan had a market share of 5.77%, while Suzuki accounted for 4.35% of the market.

CAMPI-TMA data also showed 16 out of 31 firms saw a decline in sales as of end-November.

CAMPI had earlier set a target of 500,000 units sold for 2024, if realized this would be 16.3% higher than last year’s 429,807 units sold and the vehicle industry’s highest sales to date. — A.H.Halili