Sales continued to be brisk for the Philippine car industry due to various promos and the availability of more vehicle units in the market.
Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines (CAMPI), the largest car industry group in the country, showed that January to February sales were up 5.8 percent versus the same months last year.
"(This) is a good sign, considering the high growth rate seen in 2010 when sales were primarily boosted by election fever and the effects of typhoon Ondoy," CAMPI president Elizabeth Lee said in a statement.
Passenger car sales were up 8.6 percent in the first two months of the year while commercial vehicle sales swelled by 4.3 percent. Both market segments were dominated by Toyota Motor Philippines.
Toyota continued to widen its gap from other manufacturers as it hit year-to-date sales of 8,438 units, which represents a 37-percent market share.
Mitsubishi came at a far second with a 22-percent market share and sales of 4,988 as of end-February.
Hyundai Asia Resources, which is no longer a member of CAMPI, earlier revealed it sold 3,079 units from January to February, making Hyundai the third best selling brand in the Philippines.
Other top sellers include Honda Cars Philippines, Ford Group Philippines (including Mazda) and Isuzu Philippines Corp.
CAMPI is optimistic the Philippine automotive industry's sales can still "remain at a comfortable level" despite the increase in fuel prices, which may lead to inflation and the reduction of disposable income intended for car purchases.
"Banks continue to be aggressive in their lending activities, the entrepreneurial trend continues to help boost sales and OFW remittances will continue to help fuel consumption," Lee said. "We remain hopeful that the conflict in the Middle East will be short-lived. Further, we expect the positive gains earned by businesses last year, to be reflected into productive use this year. Expansion is still seen in the business sector."
| YTD Ranking | Car company | January to February 2011 | January to February 2010 | Febuary 2011 | February 2010 |
| 1 | Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. | 8,438 | 8,041 | 4,231 | 4,170 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. | 4,988 | 4,616 | 2,683 | 2,205 |
| 3 | Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. | 3,079 | 2,715 | 1,538 | 1,533 |
| 4 | Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. | 2,360 | 2,824 | 1,140 | 1,505 |
| 5 | Ford Group Philippines (+Mazda) | 2,008 | 1,143 | 1,087 | 623 |
| 6 | Isuzu Philippines Corp. | 1,445 | 1,309 | 679 | 684 |
| 7 | Universal Motors Corp. | 878 | 947 | 501 | 475 |
| 8 | Suzuki Philippines, Inc. | 566 | 595 | 290 | 311 |
| 9 | Columbian Autocar Corp. | 698 | 972 | 340 | 458 |
| 10 | Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. | 541 | 450 | 272 | 269 |
| 11 | Pilipinas Hino, Inc. | 177 | 72 | 47 | 43 |
| 12 | CATS Motors | 164 | 130 | 85 | 51 |
| 13 | Asian Carmakers Corp. | 103 | 82 | 54 | 30 |
| 14 | PGA Cars | 84 | 71 | 36 | 37 |
| 15 | Dreamco | 32 | 30 | 9 | 13 |
| 16 | MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corp. | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | Columbian Motors Corp. | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Data from CAMPI, Truck Manufacturers' Association and Hyundai Asia Resources | |||||
