Businesses driving car sales

Car sales continued to grow in February, largely due to demand for vehicles for business use, industry data released on Tuesday showed. Twenty car firms sold 24,336 units in the first two months, up by more than a third from the year-ago level. For February alone, total sales reached 12,573 units, 6.9 percent better than the January figure and 39.3 percent higher than the February 2009 performance. Commercial vehicles drove growth, with sales from this segment rising by 41.5 percent to 15,976 units, while the passenger cars sold rose by more than a quarter to 8,360. "Strong car sales reflect a stronger economy, with the bulk of the volume coming from [commercial vehicles]," the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. said in a statement on Tuesday. Most of these vehicles, it said, are used for business and by the family. "This trend is [expected] to remain strong and will continue to support vehicle sales in the coming months," it added. The group is looking at 4 percent growth in sales this year, but may revise this outlook when March sales figures are in. Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. remained at the head of the pack with a 33-percent market share. It sold 8,041 units in the first two months, up by more than a quarter from a year earlier. Mistubishi Motors Philippines Corp. likewise defended its position as the second top seller mainly on the strength of its commercial vehicle sales. Mitsubishi sales grew by more than half to 4,616 units in January and February, with commercial vehicles making up 93 percent of the total. Perennial third placer Honda Cars Philippines, Inc., which deals mostly with passenger cars, nearly lost its standing to Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. Honda cornered 11.6 percent of the market during the period, just a few points more than Hyundai’s 11.2-percent share. Honda sold 2,824 units, 4.8 percent lower, while Hyundai more than doubled its sales to 2,715 in the first two months from 1,208 in the same period last year. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, BusinessWorld