Auto sales rise 20.2% in May
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:14:11 +0000
AUTOMOBILE sales grew by double digits month-on-month in May, but remained flat year-on-year, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
In a joint report on Monday, Campi and TMA said 30,988 units were sold in May, a 20-percent increase from the 25,799 sold in April, and a 1.2-percent improvement from 30,620 in the same month last year.
Sales in the commercial vehicle segment, which made up the bulk — 70.79 percent — of last month’s total, climbed by 21 percent to 21,945 units from 18,138 in April and 3.4 percent from 21,219 a year ago.
Meanwhile, sales in the passenger car segment grew by 18.17 percent to 9,053 units in May from 7,661 the previous month, but dipped by 3.7 percent from 9,401 the year before.
Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. captured a 44.81-percent share of the market with 13,880 units sold in the month. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. sold 5,141 units and Nissan Philippines Inc., 3,840.
In a statement, Campi President Rommel Gutierrez credited the double-digit growth to “the long holidays in April, strong promotional campaigns and new model launches that auto companies announced in time for the summer season and the national elections.”
“More than a slight positive uptick, May 2019 saw double-digit growth reminiscent of the auto industry’s impressive performance from two years ago. If this trend continues, we can say that the market has already adjusted or even recovered from certain factors that have been affecting car sales since 2018,” he added.
As of end-May, car sales decreased by 0.04 percent to 142,185 units from 142,240 in the same period last year.
Despite this dip, Gutierrez is upbeat that sales in the first five months of 2019 have reached the same level posted last year.
“Our May year-to-date sales is already at par with last year’s figures. With stable economic trends, we are optimistic to end the year with market growth,” he said.
Year-to-date, Toyota still leads with a 41.42-percent market share. Its January-May sales dropped by 4.6 percent to 58,886 units from 61,733 a year ago.
FROM A REPORT BY TYRONE C. PIAD
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