AUTO SALES RECOVER 8.7%

Fleet sales, good financing deals, and model updates and upgrades, show that we have learned to adjust and adapt to market conditions

The local automotive industry sold 31,949 car units in June this year, an 8.7 percent recovery from the 29,395 units it sold in the same month in 2018 in the face of an industry-wide slump.

The joint report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) further outlined that sales from January to June have risen 1.4 percent to 174,135 units from 171,635 in the same period, 2018.

New taxes on cars imposed at the start of last year, paired with inflation ticking record-highs in the latter part of the year, led to a 16 percent drop in auto sales for the full year 2018. Prior to these, June 2017 sales were at a high of 37,631 units boosted by the passenger car and commercial vehicles segment.

Prompted by the growing signs of recovery, CAMPI president Atty. Rommel Gutierrez said that its members “remain very optimistic that the local auto industry is already on a path of steady growth after we conclude the first half of the year on a positive note.”

“The automotive brands’ collective efforts, highlighted by fleet sales, good financing deals, and model updates and upgrades, show that we have learned to adjust and adapt to market conditions thus helping consumers acquire new vehicles with fewer hurdles,” Gutierrez added.

The commercial vehicle segment led sales in June with 22,418 units sold, 3.9 percent more from 21,584 units in the same month last year. Light commercial vehicles followed, registering an 18.1 percent rise in sales to 17,921 units from 15,179 units last year.

While clocking in a year-to-date decline of 6.4 percent, passenger car sales accelerated 22 percent in June alone to 9,532 units sold from 7,811 units in 2018. AUVs emerged with the industry’s biggest sales drop of 33.1 percent, to 3,387 units from 5,061 units, followed by light trucks which receded 17.6 percent to 582 units from 706 units in 2018.

Meanwhile, CAMPI’s data showed that there were still less buyers for trucks and buses in June. Sales in Category IV trucks and buses dropped 11.5 percent in the month to 394 units from 445 units, while sales for category V trucks and buses plummeted 30.6 percent to only 137 units from 193 units in 2018.

Toyota Motors Philippines is still the market leader, accounting for 45.60 percent of the market with 14,568 sold units in the month, or 27.8 percent higher from 11,403 units in June 2018. Still, the top carmaker’s January to June sales were flat at 0.4 percent.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Philippine retained its second position, although sales were 19.7 percent lower at 5,315 sold units from 6,616 units in 2018. Nissan Philippines ranked third, booking 40.7 percent higher sales at 3,872 units from 2,751 in June last year.