2023 should be electrifying
2023 is going to be a big year for all of us. For one, we are looking at continued market recovery outlook which will allow us to surpass our previous sales milestone
It has been three years since the pandemic began and — so far — currently, things are slowly lighting up for the automotive industry.
As we all know, 2020 and 2021 proved to be devastating as they were the years when a number of major lockdowns crippled the economy. However; when 2022 came, life slowly breathe in as restrictions were slowly relaxed, Covid-19 patient counts were down, people were allowed to go out and mass gatherings were slowly being permitted.
In fact, if we look at the numbers from the combined Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association’s sales figures from 2020 (223,793 unit sales), 2021 (268,488 unit sales) and 2022 (315,337 unit sales from January to November), it is clearly evident that the economy — since the pandemic wrought havoc — has been gradually recovering.
For one, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), the country’s biggest carmaker, has been ecstatic with its current performance.
In a gathering, TMP chairman Alfred Ty shared: “New vehicle sales have come back strongly, especially due to the re-opening of the economy and return of pent-up demand in March. The peaceful elections and pro-business policies of the new administration give us much hope and reason to be optimistic. In fact, Toyota sales as of November are already eight percent higher than pre-Covid while the automotive market is now 87 percent of pre-Covid levels and catching up more quickly. I believe that the recovery could have been much further along if not for supply disruptions.”
Last October 2022, the Japanese automotive giant already churned out 140, 426 year-todate unit sales compared to the same period in 2021 with 103,475 YTD unit sales.
Not only this, the rest of the players in the top five list also recorded remarkable sales improvement compared to 2021. Mitsubishi Motors
Philippines Corporation logged 40, 666 units on the same month compared to same period in 2021 (29,565 units); Ford (October 2022: 18,645 units versus October 2021: 16,294 units); Nissan (17,762 units versus 15,122 units) and Suzuki (16,167 units versus 15,909 units).
Electric 2023
Another aspect notable about the local automotive industry last year was the outpour of electric vehicles. Finally, after years of pushing for vehicle electrification, the motoring public is now more open and accepting of the electric possibilities.
And as usual, TMP is at the forefront of this movement, getting the lion’s share of the electric vehicle pie.
“I am very happy say that TMP is still the leader in electrification with Toyota and Lexus making up 70 percent of electrified vehicles in the country today,” TMP head honcho, Atsuhiro Okamoto said.
“2023 is going to be a big year for all of us. For one, we are looking at continued market recovery outlook which will allow us to surpass our previous sales milestone in 2017 of 183,000 units.”
Hence, with all these in mind, this writer can’t help but believe that this year 2023 should be electrifying.