Auto Sales Increase Slightly by 2.6% for September

Following an 8.1 percent month-over-month (MoM) growth in August, the Philippine auto industry saw another uptick in MoM sales this September 2018, albeit at a measly 2.6 percent, selling 31,116 units this month against the previous month’s 30,313 units. The results were posted in a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez attributed the sales boost to new models that are currently available in the market. "We remain optimistic that this trend will be sustained before the year ends, as we expect boost in sales from the upcoming 7th Philippine International Motor Show this month and the Christmas season," he said.

Among the categories, the Passenger Car (PC) segment experienced the largest pick-up in sales, growing by 8.8 percent with 9,441 units from 8,678 last month. The Commercial Vehicle (CV) segment also grew a very tiny 0.2 percent, with 21,675 units from 21,635 last month. Within the CV segment, sales for Asian Utility Vehicles (Category 1) dropped by 1.8 percent, with 2,926 units compared to 2,981 from a month ago. In contrast, the Light Commercial Vehicle (Category 2) rose slightly by 1.6 percent, with 17,626 units from 17,354 units.

Light Trucks (Category 3) declined by 16.6 percent, with 571 units from 685 units. Trucks and Buses (Category 4 and 5) both posted negative growth of 7.7 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively. The Category 4 sold a total of 421 units while Category 5 sold 131 units in the same period this year.

Collective sales for the first nine months of the year (YTD) continue to dwindle by 13.8 percent, selling total units of 261,057 units compared with 302,869 in the same period a year ago.