Vehicle sales in the Philippines grew by 4.7 percent in July to 21,498 units from 20,542 units in the same month last year, two industry groups said Wednesday.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report sales were improving as the economy recovered to exit recession.
CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said, however, sales could fall again in August with the declaration of enhanced community quarantine, the most stringent form of lockdown in the National Capital Region.
“The industry welcomed the year-on-year growth of 4.7 percent, but anticipates a decline in sales this month with the re-imposition of ECQ in NCR, among other high-risk areas,” he said.
Data showed that passenger car sales climbed 15.3 percent in July to 7,102 units from 6,157 units in the same month last year, while commercial vehicles posted a marginal growth of 0.1 percent.
Month-on-month vehicle sales slowed down by 4.7 percent from 22,550 units in June, with passenger car sales declining by 3.79 percent from 7,382 units in June and sales of commercial vehicle sales falling 5.1 percent from 14,385 units.
Vehicle sales in the first seven months reached 154,265 units, or 46.1 percent higher than 105,583 units delivered in the same period last year. The seven-month tally this year, however, was still down from the pre-pandemic level of 205,945 units sold in the same period in 2019.
Sales of passenger cars went up by 64.6 percent in the first seven months to 49,508 from 30,069 units a year ago, while the commercial vehicle segment posted a 38.7-percent increase to 104,757 units from 75,514 units.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the dominant player, with a 41.79-percent market share in the first seven months, followed by Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. with 17.66 percent, Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. with 9.87 percent, Nissan Philippines Inc. with 8.17 percent and Isuzu Philippines Corp. with 7.59 percent.