Vehicle sales slow further in November

MANILA, Philippines — Vehicle sales continued to decline in November, registering a 23.4 percent drop from the same month a year ago, as higher excise taxes and elevated inflation still dampened demand for new purchases.

The joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) showed sales reached 31,258 units in November this year, down from 40,799 units in the same month last year.

Demand for vehicles remained weak as both the passenger car (PC) and commercial vehicle (CV) segments posted declines.

PC sales decreased 22.7 percent to 9,197 units from 11,901 units the previous year.

CV sales also slid 23.7 percent to 22,061 units in November this year from last year’s 28,898 units.

Compared to the 33,150 units sold in October, CAMPI and TMA’s sales dipped by 5.7 percent.

For the January to November period, joint sales dropped 14.4 percent to 325,465 units this year from 380,179 units a year ago.

As of end-November, PC sales fell 20.4 percent to 99,719 units from the previous year’s 125,242 units.

CV sales in the 11-month period dropped 11.5 percent to 225,746 units from 254,937 units last year.

By market share, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the leader with a 42.6 percent share as of end-November, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 19 percent.

Nissan Philippines Inc. came in third with 9.7 percent market share, followed by Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 6.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

Despite the lower year-on-year sales performance, CAMPI remains optimistic sales would improve.

“We remain confident that the industry will continue to recover as the year ends,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.

He said earlier the group expects this year’s sales to be 10 to 15 percent lower than last year’s 425,673 units, with rising inflation and the higher taxes slapped on vehicles affecting demand.