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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez Reporter
MOTOR vehicle sales last year
rose a fifth, surpassing the target set by local assemblers.
Elizabeth Lee, Chamber of
Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), said car
sales in 2007 rose by 18.4 percent as local assemblers sold 117,903
units, up from 99,541 last year.
Campi had set a 103,000-target
for the year, but revised this twice upwards to 108,000 units.
“For the first time in 10
years, the industry finally surpassed the 100,000 benchmark,” Lee
said.
She said that this milestone was
due to a number of factors, including the holding of the 1st
Philippine International Motor Show, a large line up of model
introductions for the year from most companies, and the economic
growth and relatively stable business environment.
Less, who is also the executive
vice-president of Universal Motors Corp., also pointed to the
Supreme Court’s final decision banning secondhand car imports, and
the more active government campaign against illegal vehicle imports.
Toyota Motors Philippines Corp.
continued to corner the biggest market share with full-year sales at
45,091 or 38.24 percent of the total. Honda Cars Philippines Inc.
and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. followed with 17,321 and
15,005 units sold, respectively. Isuzu Philippines Corp. ended the
year with 9,770 units sold, while Hyundai Asia Resources Inc.
churned out 8,256 units in sales.
The average monthly sales for the
year stood at 9,825 against 8,292 in 2006. December sales
represented a 15.2-percent increase over the previous month.
Commercial vehicles still
accounted for the bulk of full-year sales at 76,690 units or a 25.6
percent expansion for the year.
The Asian utility vehicle segment
rang in 31,996 unit sales for the year or a 27.4 percent growth due
to the continuous demand for diesel models.
Sales of light commercial
vehicles generated sales of 41,692 units or a 24.7 percent increase
over 2006.
Light truck sales increased 24
percent year-on-year, and by 35 percent month-on-month.
Trucks and buses posted a
10-percent increase year-on-year.
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