Automotive sales in the first quarter of 2024 remained strong with a 12.7 percent jump in total vehicle sales to 109,606 units from 97,284 units recorded from January to March last year, according to the joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
In a statement released on April 22, CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said the year-to-date sales performance was “driven by sustained demand for new vehicles, supported by overall supply improvement.”
“Our Q1 performance keeps us on track to achieve our 2024 target,” he added, noting CAMPI's conservative forecast of 468,300 units sold throughout 2024.
Commercial vehicles (CVs) dominated the year-to-date (YTD) sales with 81,395 units, occupying 74 percent of the market share. It grew by 12.2 percent this year from 72,531 units in the first quarter of 2023.
Light commercial vehicles remain the most purchased kinds of CVs with 60,302 units sold, which is 74 percent of the total CV sales. These vehicles also grew by 8.8 percent YTD from 55,436 units.
Asian utility vehicles (AUV) have posted the highest growth at 27.1 percent with 18,673 units in the same period this year from 14,688 last year.
Meanwhile, the sales of passenger cars have increased by 14 percent YTD to 28,211 units from 24,753 in the first quarter of 2023. It currently makes up 25.74 percent of the market share.
However, it's worth noting that, on a month-to-month basis, total vehicle sales in March alone inched down by 1.6 percent to 37,474 units compared to 38,072 units logged in February this year. CVs saw a3.8 percent decline in sales last month to 27,347 units from 28,434 in February.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation remained the top car company in the country with 45.31 percent of the market share, selling 49,667 units.
Toyota was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation with 20,867 units and 19.04 percent market share, Nissan Philippines, Inc. with 7,909 units and 7.22 percent share, Ford Group Philippines with 7,531 units and 6.87 percent share, and Suzuki Philippines, Inc. with 4,395 units and 4.01 percent share.