Car sales up 3.5% in 2019

MANILA -- Sales of car manufacturers in the country increased by 3.5 percent in 2019 to 369,941 units from 357,410 units sold in 2018.

Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) reported Tuesday that sales of commercial vehicles supported the growth of the industry amid the almost flat growth in sales of passenger cars.

Passenger car sales reached 190,197 units last year, slightly up by 0.2 percent from 190,020 units in 2018. This segment accounted for 30.5 percent of the total sales of CAMPI members.

Commercial vehicles, which shared 69.5 percent of CAMPI’s total sales in 2019, grew by 5 percent to 260,744 units from 248,390 units in 2018.

“The year 2019 has been challenging for the industry due to various internal and external factors. Thankfully the industry’s collective efforts, supported by sustained economic growth, have paid off,” CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said.

Among sub-segments of the commercial vehicle, sales of light commercial vehicles expanded by double-digit. Light commercial vehicle sales last year reached 205,805 units from 185,430 units in 2018, increasing by 11 percent.

On the other hand, Asian utility vehicles declined their sales by 15.4 percent to 40,838 units in 2019 from 48,271 units in 2018.

Sales of light trucks went up by 3.9 percent yearon-year to 7,915 units from

7,619 units.

Trucks and buses categories four and five both posted decrements in sales last year of 5.9 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively.

For December 2019 alone, CAMPI registered 5.5-percent growth year-onyear with 33,715 units sold from 31,945 unit sales in the same month in 2018.

Commercial vehicle sales registered an 8.1-percent growth, with sales reaching 24,469 units last month from 22,644 units in December 2018.

Passenger cars sold in

December 2019 were lower by 0.6 percent year-on-year recording 9,246 unit sales from 9,301 units in the same month in 2018.

Gutierrez said the industry targets to continue expanding its sales in the coming months and for the full-year of 2020.

“We will not rest on our laurels as we aim for further growth in the coming months, and hopefully for the whole of 2020,” he said.

Market leaders in 2019 are Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, and Ford. (PNA)