Vehicle sales increased 30.1 percent in the first quarter to 97,298 from 74,754 units in the same period in 2022, two industry groups said Wednesday.
The Chamber of Automotive of Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report passenger car sales went up by 35.1 percent in the first three months to 24,753 from 18,323 units in the same quarter last year.
Commercial vehicle deliveries also grew by 28.5 percent in the quarter to 72,531 from 56,431 units a year ago.
Sales in March hit the second highest monthly tally in the post-pandemic era, hitting 36,880 units, or 19.3 percent higher than 30,905 vehicles sold in February. It also jumped 24.2 percent from 29,685 units delivered in the same month in 2022.
“Achieving the 36,880-unit sales in March is indeed good news as the auto industry continues to hinge on the thriving consumer demand for new motor vehicles, which hopefully will further improve in the coming months. In the same way, favorable economic conditions are also an important driving factor for sustained growth,” said CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez.
Based on the March tally, passenger car sales amounted to 10,058 units, higher by 39.91 percent than 7,189 vehicles sold in February and by 51.8 percent from 6,625 a year earlier.
Commercial vehicle sales continued their growth streak, increasing by 72.73 percent to 26,822 from 23,716 units in February and by 16.3 percent from March 2022 sales of 23,060.
The increasing volume of sales across categories also boosted the confidence of industry players to bring in more models and spend more on promotional activities.
CAMPI and TMA expressed hope about surpassing the highest post-pandemic monthly sales of 37,000 units achieved in December 2022.
Gutierrez said the industry is optimistic that growth will continue this year, based on the growth trajectory of sales last year.
CAMPI tries to bring back sales to pre-pandemic statistics of 457,110 units in 2019.
“I am sure there is pent-up demand, and supply continues to improve. In fact, we have many models coming this year. That will really boost the sales for all brands. I believe all brands are really preparing this year’s full recovery,” Gutierrez said.