Passenger car sales continued to strengthen in August, rising 15% y-o-y during the month, according to industry figures released yesterday. Data from the Automotive Information Council (AMIC) showed that local distributors move some 18.3k units during the month, up from 15.9k in August 2020, while on a monthly basis sales rose 3% from the 17.8k in July.

August sales represent sustained growth, not a low base effect: Sales of all types of vehicles saw a dip in 2Q2020 on the back of a pandemic-induced slowdown. But passenger car sales had recovered by August last year, increasing nearly 50% y-o-y from 10.7k in August 2019. This August’s passenger car sales represent a 71% increase on August 2019, the summer before the pandemic hit.

Total vehicle sales were up 18% y-o-y to 24.5k units, compared with 20.8k in August 2020. Vehicle sales also increased slightly on a monthly basis, up 4% from the 23.5k units sold in July.

Sales of buses and trucks also posted growth in August: 1.9 k buses were sold in August, up 19% y-o-y from 1.6k in August 2020, and little changed from July. Truck sales were up by a hefty 32% y-o-y and 14% m-o-m to 4.2k.

AMIC data is self-reported by member distributors, who include the majority of (but not all) industry participants.