Sales in October alone amounted to 14,317, up by 12.2 percent from the same month last year. The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines (Campi) said sales in October last year driven by brisk replacement purchases for damaged cars after tropical storms flooded Luzon in late September 2009.

The ten-month tally boosts confidence that the industry is poised to surpass 1996's record of over 162,000 units by yearend, the industry group said in a statement.

"Sales are expected to move higher as seasonality kicks in particularly for the two months ahead, ending the year 2010 with a robust growth surpassing the highest sales attained by the local industry back in 1996," Campi president Elizabeth Lee said.

"The forecasted volume based on sales growth thus far is still on target and within the range base of at least 170,000 for the year," she said.

Commercial vehicles, made up of pick-up trucks, sports utility vehicles and Asian utility vehicles, continue to take up the majority of sales nationwide with a 65 percent share of total vehicle sales. The segment posted a growth of 33.5 percent for the 10-month period, translating to a 91,733 total vehicles year to date.

Passenger cars likewise put in their share of vehicle sales with a strong 32.2 percent growth selling 49,485 cars thus far.

Manila Bulletin