Car sales up 25.4% in March

Rappler.com

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Car sales in March, driven by new models and aggressive marketing, exceed expectations

CAR SALES UP. New models and the aggressive marketing drove the growth in sales for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in March 2014.

MANILA, Philippines – Sales of locally-assembled cars exceeded industry expectations in March, growing by 25.4% from a year ago, the Chamber of Automative Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) said on Friday, April 11.

A joint report of CAMPI  and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that a “record” 19,173 units were sold in March this year – a 25.4% increase from the 15,292 units sold in March 2013, and 13.9% higher than in February.

CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said while “strong sales” were expected in March because of the summer season, the actual number of units sold were higher than expected.

“March is generally considered as a strong sales month.  The summer season and pre-Holy Week rush drives customers to the showrooms.  Despite this, the market is still more than our expectation, a positive sign of strong automotive industry.  We expect to sustain this stable level as we enter the second quarter,” Gutierrez said.

New and improved models and the aggressive marketing of various brands drove sales for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

Passenger cars sales in March 2014 reached 7,174 – a 40%-increase  compared to the previous year, and is 27.7% higher than in February.  

The commercial vehicle segment grew by 18% year-on-year and 7.1% month-on-month with 11,999 units sales in March.

Sales of action utility vehicles (AUVs) reached 3,774 units or 6.6% growth, while light commercial vehicle sales increased by 24.3% over the previous year with  7,778 in sales.

Light trucks posted the highest growth at 61.8% with 335 units sold, while Category 4 and Category 5 trucks buses sold 110 units and 12 units respectively during that period.

The joint report said that with the March figures, total sales for the first quarter of 2014 reached 51,643 units or 22.9% growth compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation is still the market leader with 44.2% market share, followed by Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corporation (23.6%), Ford Motor Philippines (7.2%), Honda Cars Philippines (6.4%) and Isuzu Philippines (5.9%). – Rappler.com

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