Vehicle sales grew 7.6% in March
Local vehicle sales grew at a faster pace of 7.6 percent in March as strong demand for trucks and buses made up for the slack in the passenger car market.
A joint report by Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association released on Monday afternoon showed that local vehicle sales had reached 40,306 units during the month compared with 37,474 units sold a year ago.
The year-on-year growth in March was much faster than the 2.9-percent sales expansion in February. Month on month, it also marked a 2.9-percent improvement from the 39,164 units recorded in the previous month.
The commercial vehicle segment, which includes trucks and buses, saw a 16.5-percent annual growth to 31,857 units. Month-on-month, this segment also posted a 2.7-percent increase.
Meanwhile, the passenger car segment saw an annual decline of 16.6 percent to 8,449 units.
However, it grew by 3.62 percent from the February level.
Electric vehicles made up 5.95 percent of total sales in March, with 1,895 units sold.
There were 1,510 units of hybrid electric vehicles sold, followed by battery electric vehicles at 357 units and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles at 28 units.
Top brands
In terms of brands, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. maintained a strong lead with a 46.91 percent market share, selling 18,907 units.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. ranked second with a 19.44-percent market share, followed by Nissan Philippines at 5.66 percent, Ford Motor Company Philippines at 4.68 percent and Suzuki Philippines at 4.67 percent.
The March sales brought total sales for the first quarter to 117,074 units, marking a 6.8-percent growth compared with the 109,606 units sold in the same three-month period in 2024.
Vehicle sales in the country reached a new record high in 2024, hitting 467,252 units, despite falling short of industry expectations.
Sales volume stood at 429,807 units in 2023, rising from 352,596 units in 2022.
