File photo MANILA - The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) remains hopeful to hit the industry's sales target this year after recording an encouraging month-on-month growth in September. A joint report of CAMPI and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) on Monday showed that vehicle sales in September grew 35.6 percent to 21,493 units from 15,847 units in August this year. In a statement, CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said the favorable development last month will help the industry to achieve its sales target for this year. "Amidst the challenges, the industry's optimism still lingers for a better sales performance in the fourth quarter this year. This is driven by the overall improved consumer confidence resulting from a more buoyant economic condition and household spending, according to the recent government data," he added. Earlier, Gutierrez said the industry targets to end the year with 295,400 unit sales. The target includes sales of imported vehicles. For the first nine months of the year, sales of local car assemblers reached 191,605 units, increasing by 29.5 percent from the same period last year at 148,012 units. In the same period, passenger car sales rose 38.3 percent to 60,982 units from January to September this year from 44,079 units in 2020. Commercial vehicle sales improved by 25.7 percent to 130,623 units from 103,933 units. Industry leaders for the first three quarters of the year are Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Suzuki, and Nissan. (PNA) }