Auto industry forecasts 11.7% sales growth this yr

THE Philippine automotive industry expects sales to grow by about 11.7 percent this year, slightly lower than the desired 12 percent growth target, because of “unsatisfactory results” in the fourth quarter last year which could mean buying trends may be changing, an industry official said.

“In the fourth quarter of 2016, we [Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. or Campi] should have sold more units [but it] yielded unsatisfactory results. This shows that the buying trend is changing and it may continue to do so this year,” said Joseph Bautista, head of product development and resident outdoorsman of Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC), during the launch last Friday of the new 2017 Isuzu D-Max X-Series.