These are the top performing brands for H1 2020

Everyone knows how much the COVID-19 pandemic has already greatly and negatively affected most if not all industries around the world. One of the hardest hit is the automotive industry, not only in the Philippines but around the world as well. Now that the Philippine economy has been opened up, there is some hope in the automotive industry despite the actual situation in the country.

Based on data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID), it appears that the Philippine automotive industry is growing once again and we now have enough data to see which are the five top-selling brands for the first half of 2020.

It is not surprising at all to see Toyota still at number one with 35,648 units sold in the first half of the year. Following with less than half of what they sold is Mitsubishi with 15,133 units. Nissan is at number three with 9,708 units sold. At number four is Hyundai and at number five is Suzuki with 6,894 and 5,660 units sold respectively.

Based on a report by PhilKotse.com, a certain Chinese car brand is slowly making its way to the top. Considering the fact that this brand only entered the market last year, albeit for a second-try, its performance is quite promising. According to AVID data, Geely, under the distributorship of Sojitz G Auto Philippines (SGAP) enjoyed a 162 percent increase in sales from May to June this year with exactly 70 units in May but an increase to 184 units in June. This means that the brand was able to sell a total of 549 units for the first half of 2020 (January to June).

(Update 07-29-2020: MG Philippines has released their sales figures for H1 2020 bringing the Geely Coolray to second place. Read about it here.)

Geely was reintroduced in the country by Sojitz G Auto Philippines, the former distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles and also the current distributor of Mitsubishi’s Fuso trucks in the country, in September 2019. They initially only launched a single crossover model in the form of the Geely Coolray subcompact. Recently, the Azkarra compact crossover with segment first electrification through a mild-hybrid system was launched bringing the lineup up to 2 models.

With the growing popularity of Chinese and other mainstream branded crossovers in the country, it won’t be surprising to see Geely’s sales increase even further, especially considering the impressive specs and features they can offer together with a more affordable price tag.