Auto industry Q1 ‘18 winners and losers
The higher excise tax on new cars imposed by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law identified new winners and new losers among the top 10 automotive industry players in the first quarter of 2018.
TRAIN could be the primary reason why Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP) market share slid from 41 percent in the first quarter of 2017 to 37.4 percent in this year’s first quarter.
But TMP is still a winner as it stays no. 1 in the top 10 list of the consolidated 2018 Q1 sales report of Campi (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc.) and Avid (Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc.).
What’s more, six out of the top 10 best-selling nameplates in 2018 Q1 are Toyotas, and a Toyota is found in every top 5 category except the top 5 subcompact SUVs/crossovers list.
The 16-time Triple Crown Champion is perched so high as to be unreachable although it posted a minus 15.4 percent variance in total vehicle sales compared to the same period in 2017.
Toyota’s Vios continues to reign supreme as the best-selling motor vehicle across all categories, with 7,566 units sold in Q1 this year even though that is 1,456 units less than the 9,022 units sold in Q1 2017.
Aside from the Vios, the other Toyota winners are Wigo, capturing no. 4 in the top 10 nameplates list and no. 1 in the top 5 mini subcompact cars.
The Toyota Hilux, same as in Q1 2017, is no. 1 in the top 5 pickup trucks list even though it retreated from no. 9 in the top 10 nameplates list to no. 10 this first quarter.
The Toyota Hiace still ranks first in the top 5 minivans list of Q1 2018 with 4,471 units sold, slightly less than the 4,546 sold in the same period last year.
Those are the good news items. For Toyota, perhaps the most painful loss is its Fortuner ceding the no.1 spot in the lucrative top 5 midsize SUVs/crossovers category to the Mitsubishi Montero Sport.
Mitsubushi, a winner
Having wrested the leadership in midsize SUV sales from the Toyota Fortuner, the Mitsubishi Montero Sport is now second only to the Vios in the top 10 nameplates game.
The Montero Sport scored 6,650 unit sales in Q1 2018 versus the Fortuner’s 5,897.
Moreover, the Montero Sport’s triumph over the Fortuner is not the only reason Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) people are smiling these days.
In the first quarter this year, MMPC’s market share rose to 21.2 percent from 16.6 percent in the same period last year, reflecting a positive 18.4 percent variance.
MMPCis one of the four carmakers that increased market share this first quarter.
MMPC posted another gain when the Mitsubishi L300 took the no. 1 spot in the top 5 MPVs/AUVs lineup, overtaking the Toyota Innova which was the topnotcher in last year’s Q1.
At the same time, the Mitsubishi Mirage G4, which didn’t make it to the top 10 nameplates in Q1 2017, grabbed the no. 9 position from the Toyota Hilux pickup truck this first quarter, relegating the latter to no. 10.
Speaking of pickup trucks, the Mitsubishi Strada with sales of 1,101 units dislodged the Isuzu D-Max from fourth in the top 5 pickup trucks list.
The D-Max is now last, with 866 units sold compared to 1,080 in Q1 2017, part of a surprising 41.8 percent drop in Isuzu Philippines, Inc.’s total vehicle sales.
More bad news for Isuzu: the mu-X lost third place in the top 5 midsize SUVs/crossovers list to the Ford Everest.
The mu-X is no longer in the top 10 nameplates list, which has been revised due to the arrival of two mini subcompact cars: the Toyota Wigo at fourth place and the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 at ninth.
Hyundai’s resilience
Meanwhile, despite a negative 1.2 percent decrease in total vehicle sales this first quarter compared to last year’s Q1, Hyundai Asia resources, Inc. (Hari) remains firmly in third place in the top 10 industry players’ roster, proving its resilience.
Sales of the Accent, Hari’s best seller, rose only slightly from 3,835 to 3,899 units, but this performance together with minor sales growth of the Hyundai Eon (third place in the top 5 mini subcompact cars list), the Tucson (second place in the top 5 compact SUVs/crossovers list), and the Elantra (third place in the top 3 compact cars list) was enough for the Korean brand to consolidate its position.
Sales of the Starex and Santa Fe dipped, perhaps due to customer anticipation of newer model releases later this year.
The good news from Hyundai is that its total vehicle sales grew by 20 percent from 2,649 in February to 3,179 in March this year, perhaps signaling the start of an upward trend.
Nissan’s highlight
Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) was a winner in Q1 2018, highlighted by the Navara advancing from third to second place in the top 5 pickup trucks game, in the process overtaking the Ford Ranger.
NPI sold 2,723 Navara units this first quarter versus Ford Motor Company Philippines’ 2,508 Rangers.
Simultaneously, the Nissan Urvan retained the no. 2 spot in the top 5 minivans list, second only to the almighty Toyota Hiace. NPI sold 1,497 Urvans, double Hyundai Starex’s 712 units sold.
The Nissan Almera is steady at fourth place in the top 5 subcompacts list.
The only negative news involves the Nissan Juke, which dropped from third to fourth spot in the top 5 subcompact SUVs/crossovers list, with only 155 units sold compared to 710 in the same period last year.
The Juke was overtaken by the Suzuki Vitara, 590 units of which were sold in the first quarter this year.
Suzuki’s best sellers
Among the four top 10 industry players that increased their total vehicle sales in Q1 2018 despite the TRAIN law, Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPI) led the way with a positive variance of 21.4 percent.
SPI sold 4,917 vehicles compared to 4,051 in the same period last year.
The Ertiga landed fourth place in the top 5 MPVs/AUVs list with sales of 1,622 units, representing 33 percent of total Suzuki sales.
SPI does not disclose how many units are sold per model, only the percentages of the three best-selling models visà-vis the total number of vehicles sold.
Since SPI revealed that the Celerio represented 13 percent of 4,917 vehicles sold, we did the math and came up with 639.
Suzuki’s comeback kid, the Vitara, made up 12 percent of the 4,917, so the conclusion is that 590 units thereof were sold this first quarter, allowing it to assume third place in the top 5 subcompact SUVs/crossovers list.
It’s too bad that SPI has a policy of not giving a breakdown of sales per model, since the popular Swift 1.2 may have merited a spot in the top 5 subcompact cars list.
The same goes for Mazda, Ford and Kia, who practice the same policy.
One or two of the Mazda SkyActiv cars and/or Mazda CX crossover series, a Kia car or minivan may have deserved inclusion in the top 5 category lists if only their individual sales data were available.
Summing up, auto industry observers watch and wait as the first quarter winners and losers strive to overcome TRAIN’s impact in the second quarter, and thereby further grow or lose market share.