Sales of locally assembled vehicles declined three percent in the first half to 59,910 units from 61,632 units a year ago, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) figures released yesterday showed.
Campi president Elizabeth Lee said despite the quarter on-year drop in sales, sales grew by 4.4 percent in June from the same period in 2008. June sales have reached 10,909 units.
"We are thankful that the local auto sales are holding up and continue to register some growth month on month, even amid the global crisis and considering the negative performance of auto sales in the west and even in Asean," Lee explained.
The on-month positive performance was mainly due to the stability of the banking sector amid the global crisis and the financing environment fairly healthy.
"Support for auto sales should continue as buyers are able to get loans to finance their purchases. Another key factor sustaining vehicle sales is the OFW remittances which managed to grow by 2.6 percent even with the global crisis," he said.
Lee added that with over $16 billion expected from remittances and the fact that two out of three households are supported by the remittances of Filipino working abroad, car sales should remain fairly stable with continued month on month growth to be seen in the next half of the year. The forecast for this year remains tempered toward at least a flat growth, Lee said.
Auto players remain optimistic on better performance in the next half of the year.
Sales are supported by sustained growth in the Pasenger car segment as well as the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment, both of which continue to see growth in sales.
Total Passenger Car (PC) sales so far were 21,375 with a 1.2 percent growth for the month of May.
Commercial Vehicle (CV) sales, meanwhile, has 38,535 units sold, still taking up the bulk of total vehicles sold nationwide with a 64.3 percent market share.
LCVs which comprise the popular pick up trucks, vans, and compact wagons, continue to pull sales up with a remarkable 12.8 percent growth selling 23,298 units thus far.
Sales in this segment continue to grow due to the continued entrepreneurship trend where buyers look to invest in vehicles that give them the best value for their money, vehicles which serve a dual purpose.
New model launches and continued aggressive promotions sustained the growth in the PC segment. June sales registered a 1.2 percent growth while year to date, PC sales grew by 1.8 percent. Total PC sales are 21,375 cars sold nationwide. PC sales are seen to maintain growth in the coming months.
CV sales grew by 6.2 percent compared to May which reflects the buying public’s preference for multipurpose vehicles that offer more value for money and can be used both for personal and business purposes. - source: Philippine Tribune
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