Car sales jumped 17.3 percent in October from a year ago, indicating a strong fourth-quarter demand ahead of the implementation of a new tax next year.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report their members sold 36,511 vehicles in October, up by 17.3 percent from 31,132 units delivered in the same month last year. the sales were also 6 percent higher than 34,445 units sold in September 2017.
“October sales result increased compared to September sales result because of the continued robust trend as the year comes to an end. Higher sales for October was driven by the continued surge in demand as well as promotional support to further support the key models,” said Campi president Rommel Gutierrez.
The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion bill aims to increase the excise tax rates on automobiles in a bid to generate additional revenues for the government. It is expected to be passed by the Senate this year.
Data showed total vehicle sales in the first 10 months, climbed 16 percent to 339,380 units from 292,502 units in the same period last year. Demand for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles went up in January to October.
Campi said sales of Asian utility vehicles in October rose 14.7 percent to 6,858 units from 5,981 units last year, while demand for light commercial vehicles grew 2.4 percentto 16,521 units from 16,137 units.
The heavy duty segment, composed of trucks and buses, showed the biggest increase of 13.6 percent during the month.
Toyota Motor Philippines remained the top sales performer in October with a 44-percent market share. It was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 17.61 percent and Ford Philippines with 8.42 percent.
“Outlook for the succeeding months remains strong, driven by the good sales performance of key models from major players. In addition to this is the competitive promotional support and marketing activities to further push vehicles,” Gutierrez said.