Auto sales grow 42% in Jan-Feb – Campi

MANILA, Philippines – Strong economic expansion helped the Chamber of the Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) book a 42% annual increase in car sales in January-February 2013.

The 12-member association tallied total sales of 26,588 units in the first two months, up from 18,718 during the same period of 2012.

“This steady growth in 2013 is a direct result of the continuous robust economy with the increased purchasing power among household and the private sector coupled with continuous inflow of private investments and government spending on infrastructure,” said Campi President Rommel Gutierrez.

Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. accounted for most of the sales. Its January-February sales accounted for 39.9% of the total, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines at 24.1%, Honda Cars Philippines at 9.9%, Isuzu Philippines Corp. at 6.6%, and Ford Philippines at 6.3%.

Passenger car sales grew 69.6% to 8,740 units from 5,153 units a year ago. Campi also reported a 31.6% hike in the commercial vehicle segment, with units sold rising to 17,848 from 13,565.

Aside from Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu and Ford, the other members of CAMPI are Asian Carmakers Corp., CATS Motors, Inc., Columbian Autocar Corp., Eurobrands Distributor, Nissan Motor Philippines, Suzuki Philippines and Nissan-Universal Motors Corporation. – with reports from Christian Bautista/Rappler.com