Auto Industry Opens 2015 with 19.3% Year-on-Year Growth
February 11, 2015
The Philippine automotive industry is off to a very good start as its January sales reached an impressive 19.3% increase over the January 2014 sales. Based on the report issued by the joint Marketing Committee of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), the industry sold a total of 18,662 units last month compared to 15,647 units in the same month last 2014.
Last month’s sales performance is so far the highest January sale ever achieved by the industry. As CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez explained, “January has been traditionally a slow month following a hectic selling period in December but this year’s January sales results is yet another milestone achieved by the automotive industry.”
The passenger car segment led the industry with an impressive year-on-year growth of 35.8% from 5,301 units to 7,200 units. The commercial vehicle sector also achieved higher sales by 10.8% from 10,346 units to 11,462 units. Except for a minor 4.8% decline in light trucks sale, other sub-segments within the commercial vehicle category also increased. The AUV sub-segment improved by 5.6% from 3,355 units in January 2014 to 3,543 units last month while LCV grew by 14.1% from 6,561 units to 7,483 units. Heavy duty trucks and buses also showed improvement with combined growth of 14.2% from 141 units in January 2014 to 161 units last month.
“We have projected a 15% growth for the entire year. The January sales performance is an early sign that our targets are achievable, with more new product launches and promotion packages to come throughout the year,” added Atty. Gutierrez.
In terms of individual performance, Toyota Motor Philippines improved its leadership with 46.7% market share. This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors with 17.4 % share. On third spot with a market share of 8.8% is Ford Group while Isuzu is in fourth with 6.6%. Rounding up the fifth spot is Honda Cars with 6.1%.
