New vehicle sales in the Philippines rose by 8.7% to 35,309 units in August, from 32,472 units in the same month of last year, according to data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

The CAMPI/TMA data does not include sales of non-affiliated brands, including Hyundai, Chevrolet and Subaru, which together accounted for around 20% of total vehicle sales last year.

Last month the vehicle market grew at a much slower rate than in previous months this year, with passenger vehicle sales increasing by just 1% year on year to 11,258 units after four years of exceptionally strong growth.

Commercial vehicle sales were almost 13% higher at 24,051 units, reflecting continued strong economic growth in the country – with the second quarter GDP rise estimated at 6.5%.

In the first eight months of the year, new vehicle sales increased by 16.7% to 268,424 units from 229,919 units a year earlier. Commercial vehicle sales were up by over 23% at 177,285 units in this period while passenger vehicle sales rose by just 7.3% to 91,139 units. 

Toyota sold 118,373 vehicles in the eight month period, based on market share data released by CAMPI, followed by Mitsubishi Motors with 47,467 sales.

Separately, Hyundai reported 3,273 vehicle sales in August and 24,233 units year to date.

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