The Philippine vehicle market expanded by almost 16% in the first eight months of 2007, fuelled by the strongest economic growth seen since the Asian economic crisis a decade ago.
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Sales amounted to 73,565 units during the eight-month period, compared with 63,580 units a year earlier.
Economic growth gathered momentum in the second quarter with GDP growth rising by 7.5% year-on-year – slightly higher than the revised 7.1% growth rate reported for the first quarter. This brings first-half economic expansion to 7.3%, driven by 8%-plus growth in industrial output and services and high levels of remittances from overseas workers. Agriculture expanded by 3.9%.
The government is cautiously optimistic about the short-term growth prospects, despite the global financial turmoil. Its full-year GDP growth target of between 6.1% and 6.7% will likely be met, with some in government expecting growth to exceed 7% for the full-year. For 2008, the government is forecasting GDP growth of around 6%.
Toyota remained the overall market leader in the first eight months of 2007, with sales of 27,037 units and a market share of 36.7%, followed by Honda with 11,409 and a 15.5% share; and Mitsubishi with 9,440 units and 12.8%.
Passenger car sales saw moderate growth during the January-August period, with volume rising by just under 4% to 25,670 units, from 24,694 a year earlier. Honda performed strongest in this segment, with a market share of almost 35% compared with Toyota’s 32%.
The Honda Civic model, launched last year, has become the country’s best-selling car model this year – having overtaken the Toyota Vios which was not replaced with a redesigned line until August.
Most of the market rise has been in the commercial vehicle segment, with growth reasonably widespread. Segment sales, including SUVs, rose by over 23% in the first eight months of the year to 47,895 units. Mitsubishi has performed strongly in this segment, with sales rising by 21% to 8,662 units thanks to strong sales of the L300 van and minibus and L200 pickup truck. Toyota remained the market leader, however, with 18,763 sales – giving it a 39% share of the commercial vehicle market.
Tony Pugliese
