Toyota confident of capturing 40% of RP auto market this year

Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. is eyeing to capture an industry-leading 40 percent of the automotive market this year as the Japanese auto giant continues to expand its product line.

In an interview over the weekend, Rommel Gutierrez, TMP vice president, said Toyota is confident it can increase its market share by two percentage points this year.

“We had 38 percent of the market last year. For this year, we expect to grow to 40 percent,” he said.

However, Gutierrez admitted that 2008 will not be as robust as last year, when the industry experienced double-digit sales growth, though he said Toyota is not worried by this scenario.

“It is true that this year will be slower when compared to the previous year but as long as the market is growing we are happy,” he noted.

“We will be introducing new models specifically for passenger cars in order to further solidify our product line up,” he added.

According to him, 2007 was a good year for the entire industry not only for Toyota. In fact, he said although Toyota sold the most number of vehicles, other car makers grew faster.

For instance, he said, Korea’s Hyundai grew by a strong 50 percent. “We sold more units but they registered faster growth.”

Gutierrez said last year was a good start because it signaled the industry’s recovery from the 1997 financial crisis.

“Growth will continue because of the encouraging economic outlook,” he said.

Last year, Toyota zoomed to record-high sales of over 45,000 units.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) said Toyota registered total year-to-date sales of 45,091 units in 2007.

On a per model basis, four out of the country’s top five best-selling vehicles were Toyota products. The best-selling vehicle was the multi-purpose Innova, with 10,544 units sold, closely followed by the Vios compact sedan with 8,717 units. The Fortuner sport utility vehicle came in at fourth place with 7,216 units, followed by the Avanza with 6,257 units sold.

On a per segment basis, Toyota was also number one for both the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments.

Toyota captured 37.3 percent market share in the passenger car segment with total sales of 15,283 units, a growth of 10 percent compared to the same period in 2006, surpassing the industry growth of only seven percent.

In the commercial vehicle segment, Toyota registered a 22 percent growth, capturing 38.7 percent market share. It recorded total commercial vehicle sales of 29,808 units, more than twice the volume of its nearest competitor.