New vehicle sales in the Philippines continued to grow in June 2024, by 8% to 39,088 units from 36,211 units a year earlier, according to member wholesale data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
The market had continued to grow this year after rebounding strongly in the previous two years from the pandemic lows, despite slowing consumer spending growth following sharp interest rate hikes by the central bank in the last two years from 2% to 6.5%. GDP growth was expected to have strengthened slightly in the second quarter with growth estimated at around 5.9% year on year from 5.7% in the first quarter, driven by strong government spending.
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The vehicle market was down 3% month on month, however, from 40,271 units in May, prompting Campi president Rommel Gutierrez to say: “The decline in consumer demand, as well as delays in the arrival of vehicle units and supply limitation for fast moving variants, all contributed to this decline.”
Data released by the associations showed vehicle sales rose by 12% to 226,279 in the first half of 2024 from 202,415 a year earlier with commercial vehicle sales increasing by 10% to 166,404 units while passenger car sales rose by 18% to 59,875 units.
Toyota reported a 12% sales rise to 104,360 units in the six month period followed by Mitsubishi with 42,610 units (+15%), Ford 14,460 (+4%), Nissan 13,940 (+6%) and Suzuki with 9,640 units.
Earlier this year, the Philippine government added hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to its EO12 zero tariff programme which was previously available only for zero emission vehicles (BEVs) until 2028. Local automakers said they planned to step up HEV launches in response to this new policy.
Toyota plans to begin production of the new Tamaraw utility vehicle in the third quarter of 2024 with deliveries expected to start in November. The model is based on the new Hilux Champ entry-level pickup truck produced in Thailand.
