Up and down sales swing; Toyota aggression
WHO said it was all downhill? That the industry has suffered terrible sales blows continuously amid the pandemic? That several players have absorbed near-fatal damages that they almost closed shop because of sales setbacks so difficult to recover from?
If data from Campi (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc.), TMA (Truck Manufacturers Association) and Avid (Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors) are to be believed (is there reason not to believe in the first place?), it is not as bleak and as nauseating as doomsayers would want us to think of the auto business since the Covid-19 scourge dawned upon mankind in March.
For, in a pleasant surprise, Campi and TMA said that July sales alone totaled 20,542 units. Quite amazing since the industry started to reel from the health scare three months into 2020.
And in the same month of July, Avid recorded 5,100 units sold—labeled outright as a healthy performance considering that the market was still being buffeted seriously by the virus sting.
Stunningly yet again, the July sales sum registered by Campi and TMA was a 31.9-percent increase from the June output of their combined sales of 15,578.
And, not to be outdone, Avid’s July trading score was an astonishing 38-percent increase from its June sales of 3,697.
What then would these figures tell us?
Simple. The surge in July sales was a direct result of the change in government protocols from mainly lockdowns switched from strict to softer means—or more commonly known as from GCQ-ECQ (general community quarantine-enhanced community quarantine) to mecq (modified enhanced community quarantine).
The shift was, in layman’s terms, to loosen up restrictions on mobility to revive a gasping economy almost bludgeoned and virtually brought to its knees by a vicious virus seemingly out to decapitate the world.
But with industry revival came a re-spike of Covid-19 cases, forcing a return to a serious lockdown resulting in another sales downswing in August—a 12.8-percent drop in sales for Campi-tma and 7 percent for Avid.
Said Campi President Rommel Gutierrez: “We are resorting to aggressive promotions now to boost trading even as we are forced to revise our sales forecast to at least 240,000 units sold this year. If we outperform this new target, so much the better. Otherwise, recovery will be doubly difficult.”
All the best, Attorney.
Toyota web site enhanced
THE world is changing, has changed, so rapidly that we really need to be a bit of a tech-savvy (who said I know nothing about Steve Jobs the genius?) so that we don’t get lost easily in navigating/ surfing our way into the universe of Internet and the vagaries of new platforms and telecoms.
So that if you don’t have Netflix yet, get connected. And immediately watch Snowden. Now if you have the Netflix already, go view The Social Dilemma first. You will know what I mean.
Of our major players fast becoming, endeavoring vigorously, to be closely connected to its customers is none other than Toyota Motor Philippines. It has not been holding back in its aggressive stance to unveil models, stunningly in almost rapid succession yet, despite the Covid-19. Has it not launched, virtually that is, four brands already in spite of the most trying times?
The last two were simply engineering marvels: the Corolla Cross and the New Hilux.
The first Toyota I bought was a Corolla, followed by the Hilux. Best decision each time.
Ah, the new Corolla alone is now a wonder to behold. Its name alone—cross—is a beautiful wordplay as it came, without a doubt, from “crossover.” From a sedan to an SUV can you believe that? That’s why whenever I drive my Corolla/ Altis these days, I feel I’m too far behind in car technology already? And the Corolla has even become hybrid. Whew!
How time flies?
How times change?
And so, from Toyota’s Elvin “The Big E” Luciano comes at least five new sites on digital solutions for a possible automobile purchase through mostly a virtual showroom. Check them out.
They are www.toyota.com.ph/ showroom, www.facebook.com/toyotamotorphilippines, http.//m.me/ TMP, https://bit.ly/toyotaviber and TMP Chat - Google Drive.
When will a robot replace the salesman?
PEE STOP Toti Zara has left GT Capital of Toyota Motor Philippines for, reportedly, the Ayala Group. Good luck, Toti…. And Nicky Mariano has also bolted GAC? Where to this time, Nicky? Good luck, too… Comebacking Vernon B. Sarne is fast rebounding from his aneurysm bout. Well, I’ve always known Sean (that’s VBS to me) as a fighter that’s hardest to floor, as in like a grizzled warrior in the MMA/UFC wars. Nice to see you bouncing back—and way too darn fast at that, Sean. Cheers!