PH Automotive Sales Rise to 40,271 Units in May

Philippine automotive sales saw an uptick in May, driven by improved supply and higher consumer demand, according to data released by local manufacturers on Tuesday.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) indicated that 40,271 units were sold in May. This marks a 7.3% increase from the 37,314 units sold in April and a 5.5% rise from the 38,177 units sold in May 2023.

Contributing Factors

“Improvements in supply and good consumer demand, coupled with an increase in the automotive financial scheme and extensive sales activities, helped boost sales on a month-on-month basis,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement.

Sales Breakdown

May’s sales included:

• 10,967 units of passenger cars
• 29,304 units of commercial vehicles
• 6,769 units of Asian utility vehicles
• 21,572 units of light commercial vehicles
• 531 units of light-duty trucks and buses
• 369 units of medium-duty trucks and buses
• 63 units of heavy-duty trucks and buses

Market Leaders

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. held the largest market share at 46.08%, followed by:

• Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 18.78%
• Ford Group Philippines with 6.54%
• Nissan Philippines Inc. with 6.17%
• Suzuki Philippines Inc. with 4.26%

Year-to-Date Sales

Year-to-date sales were recorded at 187,191 units, reflecting a 12.7% growth from the 166,104 units sold in the same period in 2023.

Future Projections

Last month, Gutierrez mentioned that sales could be further boosted by the expansion of tariff exemptions on electric vehicles to include hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in HEVs, as part of the amendment to Executive Order 12.

CAMPI predicted in February that sales would grow by 9% to 468,000 units this year, up from the 429,807 units sold in 2023. This figure could potentially increase to 500,000 as the group hosts the Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) later this year.