AUTOMOTIVE vehicle sales in February this year rose 2.9 percent to 39,164 units from 38,072 units in the same month in 2024, the joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) released yesterday showed.
Commercial vehicle segment fueled the industry growth last month, with sales increasing by 9.1 percent to 31,010 units from 28,434 units a year ago.
Passenger car sales dragged the growth in February, declining by 15.8 percent to 8,154 units from 9,683 units in the same month last year.
Commercial vehicles accounted for 79 percent of total sales last month while passenger cars shared 21 percent of February 2025 sales.
Both commercial vehicle and passenger car segments recorded positive growth of 5.5 and 3.8 percent, respectively, based on month-on-month sales.
For the first two months of the year, local vehicle assemblers sold a total of 76,768 units, 6.4 percent higher than the 72,132 units sold from January to February 2024.
The poor monthly performance of the passenger car segment tamed the year-to-date sales of the industry.
Two-month sales of the segment also dropped by 12.4 percent to 15,883 units in 2025 from 18,129 units a year ago.
With its larger share of the total sales and strong performance, the commercial vehicle segmentās January to February 2025 sales grew 12.6 percent to 60,885 units from 54,048 units in the same period in the previous year.
āThe automotive sales trends in 2025 are influenced by several factors, including supply chain stability, growing demand for electric and autonomous vehicles, and global economic conditions,ā the joint statement read.
Meanwhile, electric vehicle (EV) sales reached 3,416 units in the first two months of the year, with biggest share coming from hybrid EV at 3,034 units, followed by battery EV at 335 units, and plug-in hybrid EV at 47 units. (PNA)
