|
By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
DESPITE the soaring price of fuel, Filipinos
kept buying gas-guzzling motor vehicles like pickup trucks, vans,
and sports utility vehicles (SUVs), with sales of these models in
the first four months this year jumping a fourth from a year ago,
according to local assemblers.
Elizabeth H. Lee, Chamber of Automotive
Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) president, said the
industry enjoyed a 14.8 percent rise in sales at 39,981 units for
the period compared with last year.
Of the vehicles sold, 11,078 units were sold in
April alone or an advance of 4.3 percent from March. Last month saw
the international price of oil break the psychological ceiling of
$120 a barrel, with local refiners resuming increases in their
prices at the pump.
Commercial vehicles comprised the bulk of local
assemblers’ sales at 66.2 percent, recording a 16.2 percent growth
year-on-year and 7.4 percent month-on-month. Sales of these vehicles
reached 26,460 units in the four-month period this year.
Lee said the sales expansion was due to a
sustained growth in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment,
comprising pickup trucks, vans, and compact SUVs.
LCVs remain the strongest segment with 14,996
units sold or a jump of 25 percent.
Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. continued to
reign, selling 14,160 units. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.
trailed with 5, 354 units sold, outflanking Honda Cars Philippines
Corp, which generated sales of 5, 269 units.
“The country’s auto industry thus far is
bucking the general trend seen in other countries such as the US,
where rising fuel prices coupled with a softening economy resulted
in a downward trend in commercial vehicle sales,” Lee said.
The industry executive said sales of passenger
cars also defied the trend in other countries, with domestic sales
of brand new vehicles rising 12 percent to 13, 521 units
year-on-year. Month-on-month, car sales however dipped by 1.4
percent.
“The increase in demand for [the passenger
car] segment is due to the shift of consumers’ preference to
diesel-fed models brought about by the increase in fuel prices. Thus
we foresee sales will continue to grow in the coming months,” Lee
said.
Sales of Asian utility vehicles also increased 6
percent to 10, 491 units year-on-year.
Light truck sales inched up 1.8 percent to
14,996 units year-on-year, but jumped 31 percent from the previous
month.
|
