The local automotive industry posted an 8.6-percent hike in sales in October, according to a joint report issued by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
Campi said local assemblers sold 31,132 vehicles last month, higher than the 28,667 recorded in October 2015.
On a monthly basis, however, the figure is 1 percent lower than the 31,451 units posted in September.
Data from Campi and TMA showed that both the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments’ sales increased compared to year-ago levels. Sales of passenger cars went up by 2.3 percent to 11,499 units while those of commercial vehicles expanded by 8.6 percent to 19,633 units.
Year-to-date auto sales have already reached 292,502 units, 24 percent higher than the 234,951 units recorded in January to October 2015. For this year, the local automotive industry set a “conservative” sales target of 370,000 units. Campi said the industry hopes to hit sales of 500,000 units by 2020, or earlier.
In October Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader with a 44.18-percent market share, followed by Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp., with 17.18 percent.
Ford Motor Philippines, Inc. is at third place with a 9.39-percent market share. Ranked fourth is Isuzu Philippines Corp., which accounted for 7.46 percent of sales, followed by Honda Cars Philippines Inc., with 6.42 percent.
Cement sales
Cement sales in the third quarter of the year grew by only 5.4 percent, as weather conditions “muted” growth, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP). According to CeMAP President Ernesto Ordoñez, sales of cement in the third quarter amounted to 6.7 million tons, a 5.4-percent increase over the same period’s sales of 6.3 million last year.
“The third-quarter increase was not as large for two main reasons. First, the weather is not as favorable this year. According to Pagasa [Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Sevices Administration], the El Niño last year caused the below-normal rainfall which is conducive to construction, but this year the rainfall is normal to above-normal,” he said.
“Also, the third quarter of 2015 had a high base because of accelerated spending in anticipation of the prospect of the 2016 elections,” Ordoñez added. The 6.7 million tons in the third quarter would bring year-to-date sales to 20.1 million tons, a 10.1-percent increase over the same nine months in 2015.
In August 2016 the Department for Budget and Management earmarked a total of P860.7 billion for infrastructure projects in 2017—11.6 percent higher than the budget for 2016—and the equivalent of 5.4 percent of GDP.