Carmakers posted another month of double-digit sales growth in June, which they took as a sign that the industry is starting to recover from the pandemic.

Vehicles sold last month stood at 22,550, up 44.8% year-on-year, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said in a joint report released Tuesday.

Compared to the previous month, car sales grew 2.2%, figures showed.

Car sales are often used by economic officials, like central bankers, as a measure of economic health. 

This is because big-ticket purchases of durable goods like vehicles have a significant contribution to the Philippines’ gross domestic product, which typically depends on consumer spending for 70% of total economic output.

“The industry is coping up with the pandemic,” CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement.

“This is a respite amid the less buoyant consumer outlook for big-ticket items for the second quarter of this year according to a government survey,” Gutierrez added.

In the first half of 2021, carmakers sold a total of 132,767 units, up 56.1% on an annual basis. For this year, manufacturers are hoping for a 30% annual sales growth.