Car sales down by 33 percent

The sales of brand new cars dropped by 33 percent as of October this year.

Data from the Commonwealth Auto Dealer’s Association showed a total sales of 889 cars from January to October 2006. This is a 33.6-percent decline compared to the same period last year, which saw 1,339 units sold.

On a monthly basis, sales last month decreased by 46 percent compared to October 2005. From 118 cars sold in October last year, the number went down to 64 last month.

Leading the sales last month was Microl Corp. with 22 units sold. Joeten Motors and Triple J Motors both had 21 cars sold each during the month.

For the year, Microl Corp. keeps the lead with 374 units sold, followed by Joeten Motors with 287, and Triple J Motors with 228.

Compared with their sales last year, Microl Corp. registered a 42-percent decline this year; Triple J Motors, a 28-percent decline; Joeten Motors, a 25-percent decline.

In terms of car models, Toyota Yaris and Mazda 3 topped sales last month with seven and five sold units respectively. Four Mitsubishi Lancers were sold while three Ford Fusion and Kia Optima were each sold last month.

Year to date, Toyota Corolla tops the list with 67 units sold, followed by Toyota Yaris with 55, Mazda 3 with 42 units, and Honda Civic with 40.

For trucks, Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger respectively sold four and three units last month. On a year-to-date basis, the two models also topped the list with 58 units for Tacoma and 27 for Ranger.

For vans, Mazda 5 topped last month with two units sold.

Year to date, Toyota Sienna is leading with 22 units sold.

For sports utility vehicles, Toyota Rav4 topped with four units sold last month, followed by Toyota FJ Cruiser and Suzuki Grand Vitara with two units sold each.

Year to date, the top three best-selling models are Rav4 with 42 units sold, Hyundai Tucson with 27 and Mitsubishi Outlander with 20 units.

In terms of franchise, Toyota and Mazda topped last month with 21 and 10 units sold respectively.

Leading the franchise list this year are Toyota and Nissan, with 348 and 104 units sold respectively.

Microl Corp. sells Toyota and Chevrolet, while Joeten Motors sells Nissan, Ford, Honda, and Kia. Triple J Motors sells Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Suzuki, Subaru, and Mazda.