Automakers see up to 15% sales drop this year

Vehicle makers and assemblers expect sales to drop between 10-to 15-percent this year as demand continue to weaken due to rising inflation and higher vehicle excise taxes.

On the sidelines of the 7th Philippine International Motor Show in Pasay City yesterday, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc.(CAMPI) president Rommel Gutierrez told reporters the lower forecast was based on the slowdown experienced in the first nine months of the year.

“For CAMPI itself, we project sales to be about 10 to 15 percent down. We hope it will at least be at that level,” he said.

A joint report report by CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) showed that aggregate sales reached 261,057 units as of end-September, 14 percent lower the 302,869 units sold in the same period last year.

Vehicle sales hit its lowest last July with a 24.1 percent drop. Sales picked up in August with an 8.16 percent gain, but fell anew in September.

“We initially were expecting the drop will only be in the first and second quarter, but it continued,” Gutierrez said.

“From our perspective, first and second quarter could be attributable to the excise tax, not the excise tax itself, but the anticipation at that time. It’s the uncertainty at that time of what will come up.”

He pointed out that the lower vehicle sales this year may also be attributed to the higher base set by the “abnormal” increase in sales in the last quarter of 2017.

In 2017, vehicle sales accelerated by 18.4 percent to 425,673 units, exceeding CAMPI’s full-year target of 400,500 units.

Moreover, CAMPI vice president Dante Santos emphasized the impact of the country’s economic conditions on vehicle sales such as higher interest rates.

“You cannot really debate on this. These are forces beyond our control,” he said.