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Car sales this year increases in spite of soaring prices of diesels and fuels. Although recent months sales have declined, the car sales in the early part of the year created more than just a cushion that causes still a net increase from prior year’s sales. The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi), credits this higher sales to the US dollars remitted by the OFW and the growing middle-income market in the country.

Alfonso Salcedo Jr., president of BPI Family Bank, one of the leading banks in the car loan sector noted that while there is an increase in car sales, the car types that get sold more has shifted from SUVs or bigger vehicles to that of smaller cars. “There has been a very noticeable shift in preference to smaller cars. It’s what’s driving the industry, the under one-million peso cars” Salcedo said.

It’s the big sports utility vehicles (SUVs) that are greatly affected by high fuel costs as the market is shifting to low displacement engines, according to Daniel Isla, first vice president for marketing and sales of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.

Topping the sales from January to July this year is Toyota Motor’s Vios which is priced below P600,000 each at 6,215 units while Honda Car’s City ranked second in the small passenger car sub-compact category.

Toyota Innova with a retail price around P800,000 leads sale for MPV or multi-purpose vehicle at 6,094 units. MPV’s are getting more popular because of their dual purpose, either for family use or for business.

Toyota’s Avanza is next on the MPV category with 3,317 sold units at a tag price above P500,000 per unit, followed by Isuzu’s Crosswind at 3,219 units. Mistubishi’s Adventure comes in forth with sales of 3,091 units.

Hyundai.’s Getz, priced below P600,000, meanwhile, leads the sale of small passenger car hatchback category with sales of 1,573 units in the seven-month period. SUV’s aren’t totally pushed out of the picture, as they are still the vehicle of choice for the more moneyed buyers. Toyota’s Fortuner, a P1.3 million vehicle, leads at 3,226 units, followed by Honda’s CRV at 2,132. Coming in at third with sales of 1,288 units is Ford’s Everest.