Philippine car sales surged more than 30 percent for the third month as Filipinos continued to buy dual-purpose rides like pickup trucks, and sport-utility and Asian utility vehicles.
Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) showed total car sales in March reached 14,373 units, 33.8 percent higher than sales made in the same month last year.
Last month's data brought the Philippine car industry sales to a total of 38,709 units in the first quarter, 35.5 percent higher than that posted in the same period last year.
"The strong first quarter result augurs well for the whole auto industry. We are looking forward to continued strong sales in the coming months compared to the same period last year," CAMPI president Elizabeth H. Lee said in a statement.
Of the vehicles sold from January to March, 66.4 percent were commercial vehicles like SUVs, AUVs and pickup trucks while 33.6 percent were passenger cars.
"Continued robust sales of dual purpose vehicles such as AUVs, LCVs (pick up trucks, vans, compact wagons) reflect the majority of Filipino buyers' penchant for value-for-money purchases," Lee said.
She added the introduction of various vehicles and models in the past three months also contributed to the car sales growth as consumers are getting more vehicle options.
"Other factors that contribute to the strength of vehicle sales include OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances whose growth so far has been upwards of eight percent," Lee said. "And with the larger economies such as the USA getting out of the recession, OFW remittances is seen to strengthen even more--with auto as a beneficiary of the growth."
With the industry's strong growth in the past three months, CAMPI is now looking at revising sales figures for 2010. The group earlier predicted 2010 sales will reach 137,000, just four percent higher than 2009 sales.
"We need to revise the target. We will discuss this in the next meeting (of CAMPI)," Lee said.
Toyota Motor Philippines dominated market in the first quarter with total sales reaching 12,431 units. It was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines with 7,184 units.
Hyundai Asia Resources has taken the third spot from Honda Cars Philippines as it sold 72 units more than the Japanese carmaker.
| Philippine car sales as of March 2010 | |||||
| YTD ranking | Car company | January to March 2010 | January to March 2009 | March 2010 | March 2009 |
| 13 | Asian Carmakers Corp. (BMW) | 135 | 117 | 53 | 42 |
| 12 | CATS Motors | 205 | Data unavailable | 75 | Data unavailable |
| 8 | Columbian Autocar Corp. (Kia) | 1,434 | 875 | 462 | 382 |
| 20 | Columbian Motors Corp. | 0 | 46 | 0 | 8 |
| 18 | Dreamco | 44 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
| 16 | Focus Ventures, Inc. | 102 | Data unavailable | 41 | Data unavailable |
| 6 | Ford Motor Co. Philippines, Inc. (+ Mazda) | 1,926 | 1,603 | 783 | 658 |
| 11 | The Covenant Car Co. (Chevrolet) | 425 | 398 | 200 | 150 |
| 4 | Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. | 4,500 | 4,510 | 1,676 | 1,543 |
| 3 | Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. | 4,572 | 2,206 | 1,857 | 998 |
| 5 | Isuzu Philippines Corp. | 2,405 | 1,896 | 1,096 | 762 |
| 19 | MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corp. | 36 | 4 | 36 | 4 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. | 7,184 | 4,860 | 2,568 | 1,871 |
| 10 | Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. | 693 | 393 | 243 | 138 |
| 15 | PGA Cars, Inc. | 103 | 70 | 32 | 28 |
| 14 | Pilipinas Hino, Inc. | 129 | 52 | 57 | 11 |
| 17 | Scandinavian Motors Corp. (Volvo) | 74 | 62 | 21 | 22 |
| 9 | Suzuki Philippines, Inc. | 949 | 495 | 354 | 178 |
| 1 | Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. | 12,341 | 9,772 | 4,300 | 3,512 |
| 7 | Universal Motors Corp. | 1,542 | 1,196 | 505 | 434 |
| Total cars sold | 38,709 | 28,563 | 14,373 | 10,745 | |
| Data source: Joint CAMPI and Truck Manufacturers Association sales report | |||||
