2016 has been another successful year for the Philippine automotive industry. While official sales figures from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID) are not expected to be revealed until January, it’s apparent to everyone on the inside that the industry has continued to push good growth numbers on total vehicle sales.
For ourselves, we’ve too have noticed good growth with our volume of customer inquiries growing by 150% to just under 100,000. Our influence on industry sales has grown from an estimated 5% in 2015 to a modest 10% in 2016. Based on comprehensive transactional data and customer surveys, we estimate that customers who inquire on AutoDeal conservatively make up 25% of all passenger vehicle sales.
However, as the industry thrives, so too does the competition. With this, we’ve took a long hard look at our search and transaction data, to provide insights on what vehicles have been the most popular for AutoDeal users in 2016.
While it’s hardly surprising to see Toyota topping the top 2 spots with the Vios and the Wigo, the Isuzu mu-X’s entry at number 3 may take a few people by surprise. However, earlier in the year we already noticed a trend, which suggested that the mu-X was the dark horse of the media dubbed "SUV Wars" that had perhaps unfairly focused in on more new to market vehicles like the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, and Mitsubishi Montero Sport.
Likewise seeing the Isuzu Crosswind at number 4 is a clear indication of the continued trend from Philippine buyers to get a reliable vehicle with the most number of seats at the best value for money; something that the Crosswind has been able to deliver time-and-time again.
Also in the top 5 is the Ford EcoSport, which continues to ride on a wave of young professionals and families willing to upgrade from a subcompact to a crossover.
Other notable inclusions consist of 4 entries from Nissan: the Urvan, Navara, Juke, and Almera, which hint at continued progress from Nissan Philippines Inc. in re-inventing the brand locally with a totally revamped vehicle line-up and refreshed approach to the industry.
Based on transactions tracked through the AutoDeal Lead Management System, which entails usage at more than 300 Philippine car-dealers nationwide, the Isuzu mu-X achieved the highest volume of confirmed vehicle sales, narrowly beating the Toyota Wigo.
Despite being the number 1 vehicle sold in the Philippines, the Vios only achieved 4th position, losing out to the Ford EcoSport which positioned itself in 3rd.
Overall, the subcompact segment made up 31% of purchases, 16% of which continued to be in favor of subcompact sedans rather than hatchbacks. This segment was led significantly by the Toyota Wigo, which enjoyed more than double the sales of its closest competitor, the Mitsubishi Mirage.
The Crossover segment achieved 15% of purchases, equaling that of the mid-size SUV segment. While the Ford EcoSport achieved the number 1 spot, there were also notable sales volumes for the Subaru XV and Nissan Juke.
Pickups took up 11%, with the Ford Ranger leading with a small margin over the Isuzu D-Max and Nissan Navara. As for MPV’s, the Toyota Avanza and Innova just surpassed the Honda Mobilio and Suzuki Ertiga.
*Data is reflective of confirmed vehicle sales remitted by sales agents or confirmed by buyers between January 1 to December 9, 2016.
