The first quarter for the automotive industry in the Philippines in 2015 was optimistic. Department of Trade Industry in March 2015 released a Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy that helped spike the sales of new cars in the country.

In the first quarter, there were 10,237 units sold by Toyota in a single month. That was a record high for single month sales. During the first quarter, the car industry in the Philippines already surpassed the 60,000 unit mark. It was a historic event since it was the first time that it happened.

Both passenger cars and commercial vehicle sales were seen to have performed well in 2015. In the first six months, in data submitted by Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines and Truck Manufacturers Association, there was a 21% increase in the number of units sold in the first half of the year. From 108,957 units in 2014, it soared to 131,465 units sold in the same span of time.

Passenger vehicle units rose 30% comparing both first-quarter data from 2014 and 2015, while commercial vehicles rose 15% in the number of units sold.

Companies by the numbers

Ford was able to sell 10,427 vehicles in the first half of 2015 alone. But for the real winners, there’s Toyota which bagged the top spot and sold 57,717 units in the same time period last year. It was followed by Mitsubishi with 25,198 units sold.

Currently, Toyota has a market leadership status in the Philippines with a 43.9% market share. The best seller for Toyota was the Vios at 14,878 units sold. It was followed by Fortuner at 8,744 units sold.

Mitsubishi is also gearing up to expand its company, as it sold 25,198 units in the first quarter of last year. It has gained a 19.2% market share with its performance in the first six months of 2015.

What’s responsible for this growth?

There are a number of factors that could explain why there are a great number of new car sales last year. According to economists, the automotive industry is riding the growth of other industries. For instance, Micro SMEs and SMEs are growing which increases the demand for both commercial and passenger vehicles.

Next, the outsourcing industry is also becoming a huge factor in why there’s an overall improvement in the automotive industry’s overall sales. According to experts, the outsourcing industry is about to surpass the economic contributions of the OFWs soon.

Another possible reason for the rise of private vehicles is the lacking public transport service in the Philippines. Given the condition of MRT and LRT, those with the ability to purchase vehicles are more than willing to buy now just to stay away from the long lines and crowded trains.

A lot of people may ask if it is the best time to buy a new vehicle for this year. Will the auto industry surge similar to how it did last year? Given the coming election, knowing that there will be a decent cash flow especially in the first five months of the year; can we expect the same performance from the car dealers?