Motor vehicle sales in September went up 37 percent to 24,523 units from the 17,906 units sold in the previous month making the industry upbeat for a recovery until the end of this year, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

“CAMPI remains optimistic that the automotive sector will recover until the end of the year amid the new normal environment as the industry posted double-digit growth of 37 percent in September,” said CAMPI president Atty. Rommel Gutierrez.

Gutierrez noted that demand for new cars posted double-digits growth on all vehicle categories except trucks and buses.

Of the September sales, the commercial vehicle contributed the bulk with 15,967 units  while the passenger cars sold 8,556 units.

In terms of category, the biggest category was posted by the light commercial vehicle or the sports utility category with total sales for the month of 12,435 units sold.

 “But we are still cautious that consumer spending is below pre-pandemic levels due to the evident shifts to essentials goods and services,” he said.

The data showed that September figure was negative 22.9 percent from 31,820 units sold in the same period last year.

Year-to-date, the auto industry has sold total of 148,012 units, a decline of 44.6 percent.

 All categories were still at double-digit declines ranging from a high of 50 to 26 percent.

 All big market players were still in the red. Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. was still down 47.6 percent year to date while Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. suffered a 36.2 percent decline. Third player Nissan Philippines Inc. suffered a 50.9 percent cut in sales while Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. at negative 41.6 percent.