Campi looks at 10-15% increase in sales for 2024

THE Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) has announced that they are looking at a conservative 10to 15-percent increase in the sales of motor vehicles in the Philippines for this year.

Campi reported at the 1st SPMJ Butch Gamboa Memorial Transportation Forum that the Philippine auto sales reached a little over 429,000 units for 2023 for a 2.3-percent increase of their projection of 420,000 units for last year.

Most of these sales came from overseas Filipino workers, employees who received their bonuses, and the increase of the employment rate for 2023.

BPI lead economist John Neri, main speaker at the forum, made a bold declaration that the Philippines will buck the global trend in economic performance and attain economic growth better than the overall global estimate.

What we actually see as the biggest mover for the Philippine auto industry are the aggressive efforts of Chinese brands penetrating the local car market, and the huge push of most car companies and even the government to promote electric and hybrid vehicles, or what we call alternative-powered motor vehicles.

What is surprising is that Neri implied that one of the biggest factors that will affect the purchasing power of the consumers, even for car sales, is the basic price of rice. Neri said rice consists of more than 10 percent of the expense of a Filipino family and this affects the other things that families need to spend for.

Still, with the present economic situation, Neri believes that the Philippine economy will do better than most other countries and will even be the top performer in Southeast Asia in terms of gross domestic product growth.

With the inflation rate settling at a lower 3.9 percent for December and projected to be lower in the coming months, both Campi and Neri believe that now is the time for banks to be aggressive in pushing their car loan programs and for those who wish to buy cars to consider making a purchase this year.

The 1st Butch Gamboa Memorial Transportation Forum was held at the PITX Tower 2 Conference Center and was attended by major automotive executives.

By the way, BPI said we should look out for their new promos because right now, it is extending its loan program from the regular five years to up to seven years. If that does not get you excited, then very few things will.