MANILA – Sales of car manufacturers bounced back in March, recording a double-digit growth year-on-year, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) reported on Monday.
CAMPI sales increased by 14 percent last month to 32,173 units from 28,216 units sold in March 2018.
“The double-digit growth during the month of March compared to the same month last year is a strong indication that the automotive industry is well on its way to recovery. We are optimistic that this trend will be sustained in the coming months,” CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said.
The 32.8-percent improvement in sales of commercial vehicle segment supported the overall sales in March, offsetting the 15.7 percent decrement in passenger cars’ sales.
Passenger car segment sold a total of 9,214 units in March, still lower than the 10,925 unit sales in the same month in 2018.
But month-on-month sales of this segment already improved by 8.77 percent from 8,471 units sold in February this year.
On the other hand, commercial vehicle sales accelerated to 22,959 units last month from 17,291 units a year ago.
Light commercial vehicles sold 18,793 units last month, up by 54.4 percent from 12,171 units in March 2018.
Asian Utility Vehicle (AUV) sales, however, declined by 29.4 percent, to 2,753 units this year from 3,899 units last year.
Among truck sub-segments, only trucks and buses category four recorded a decrease in sales, down by 36.4 percent, while the category three and light trucks were both up by 24 percent.
The double-digit growth in March has narrowed the sales decline for the first quarter of 2019.
Total CAMPI sales from January to March this year slipped by 0.8 percent to 85,388 units from 86,037 units in the same period last year.
Passenger cars sold a total of 26,172 units in Q1 2019, down by 9.5 percent from 28,907 units in Q1 2018.
Commercial vehicle sales went up by 3.7 percent to 59,216 units this year from 57,130 units in the same period of the previous year.
Market leaders in the Philippines for Q1 2018 were Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Honda, and Ford. (PNA)
