Vehicle Sales Rise in February

Local assemblers of automotive vehicles in the Philippines reported strong sales in February 2023, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturing of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) as the country moves to recover further from the damage brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to its automotive industry.

Their report said that sales of automotive vehicles in February this year reached 30,905 units, translating to a 27.2 percent increase from the 24,304 units sold in the same month of 2022.

Moreover, the sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles also recorded increases year-on-year, with passenger car sales increasing by 21.6 percent to 7,189 units in February 2023 from 5,914 units in the same month last year, while commercial vehicle sales also logged a 29 percent increase of 23,716 units from the recorded 18,390 units sold in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, industry sales for January and February 2023 also improved by 34 percent to 60,404 units, up from the 45,069 units sold in the same period of 2022. Year-to-date sales of passenger cars increased by 25.6 percent to 14,695 units from 11,698 units, while commercial vehicle sales had an improvement of 37 percent, with total sales in January to February this year at 45,709 units from 33,371 units last year.

The optimistic outlook of CAMPI and TMA comes as favorable economic indicators prevail, leading to an improving overall outlook of the economy, alongside increasing consumer demand for new motor vehicles. The automotive industry’s steady growth is expected to continue throughout the year, with sales expected to reach 395,000 units in 2023, a 10 to 15 percent increase from the actual sales of 352,596 units recorded last year. (GFB)