Motor vehicle sales nearly doubled in August from the same month in 2021, breaching the 30,000 level for the first time since the pandemic in December 2019.
A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) yesterday showed sales last month hit 30,185 units, or a 90.5 percent growth compared with 15,847 units recorded in the same period a year ago.
Rommel Gutierrez, Campi president, said this year-on-year improvement brings the group closer to achieving the industry sales target this year of 336,000 units.
Year-to-date, Campi-TMA sales totaled 212,872 units, a 25.1 percent growth compared with 170,112 units in January to August last year.
As of August, Campi-TMA members are 123,128 units away from the full-year target which they will achieve if they sustain sales above 30,000 units per month until the end of 2022.
“The recovery of the industry is indeed on track as we reached monthly sales of above 30,000 units — a pre-pandemic monthly performance level last recorded in 2019,” Gutierrez said.
From July’s 27,813, sales were up 8.5 percent.
Passenger car sales slipped 4 percent to 52,082 units from 54,402 units but the decline was offset by the 39 percent surge in the sales of commercial vehicle sales to 160,790 units from 115,710 units.
Gutierrez said the return of the 8th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) this year gives Campi optimism to end 2022 with stronger sales after a period of lower sales achievement because of the pandemic.
With the theme Mobility+Humanity — Innovating for the Common Good, the 8th PIMS runs from September 15 to 18 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
