MANILA, Philippines: Motor vehicles sales increased to 39,153 units in December 2023, higher by 5.1 percent than the 37,259 units recorded in December 2022, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said on Wednesday.

The figure is also higher by 3.9 percent than the 37,683 units sold in November 2023.

Last year, 429,807 motor vehicles were sold.

Commercial vehicles accounted for the bulk of December sales at 29,554 units, or 75.48 percent. It is 3.2 percent higher year on year and 5.1 percent up from a month earlier at 28,114.

Passenger cars had a 24.52 percent market share at 9,599 units sold in December, 11.4 percent higher than the 8,614 units sold in the same month in 2022.

New vehicles sales rose by 21.9 percent to 352,596. Of this, commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles comprised 320,543 and 109,264, respectively, up by 20.2 percent and 27.2 percent year on year.

Campi President Rommel Gutierrez is confident that sales this year will surpass those in 2023.

"2023 was a very strong year for the industry and we are very excited about 2024. Positive economic outlook, new model introductions and the electrification trend are expected to contribute to record-breaking sales this year," Gutierrez said.