MANILA, Philippines — Car sales in the Philippines could see a rebound this year, with inflation seen cooling down and base effects dissipating, a global bank said Friday. Citing data reported by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), ING Bank N.V. said Philippine auto sales dropped 17.3 percent in January 2019. ING Bank partly attributed the weak car sales for the first month of the year to possible base effects from the car buying spree seen in late 2017 and early 2018 ahead of the implementation of new excise taxes on road vehicles. Inflation stood at 4.4 percent in January, the slowest rate since April 2018 but still above the government’s 2-4 percent target range. Car sales together with construction vehicles form part of the "road vehicles component" of durable goods equipment in the national income accounts, comprising roughly 7 percent of total GDP, ING Bank noted.

Source: Philippine Star February 22, 2019 07:52 UTC