Passenger car sales were up 13% y-o-y in January, according to industry figures released yesterday. Data from the Automotive Information Council (AMIC) showed that nearly 16.9k cars were sold during the month, up from 14.9k in January 2020.

January saw car sales extend a strong run of growth from last year, despite industry insiders telling us they expect a supply crunch, including potential price hikes and local production cuts. Last year saw the sector shrug off the global chip shortage as strong demand pushed sales to their highest levels since the EGP float in 2016.

But buses and trucks are not doing so well: Around 1.3k buses were sold during the month, down 33.5% y-o-y. Truck sales also fell 22% y-o-y to just under 3k units. Overall, the auto industry sold nearly 21.2 k vehicles in January, inching up 2.2% from the same month last year.

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