Vehicle sales slow by 12% in January

MANILA, Philippines — Sales of the country’s group of vehicle assemblers dipped 12 percent in January from a year ago as the Taal Volcano eruption forced some members to temporarily suspend operations of their plants and dealerships in South Luzon and parts of Metro Manila.

Data released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) showed combined vehicle sales with the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) reached 23,723 units in January, lower than the 26,888 units in the same month last year. 

Both the passenger car (PC) and commercial vehicle (CV) segments registered year-on-year declines. 

In particular, PCs sold by the group fell 23 percent to 6,543 units in January from 8,487 units the previous year. 

CV sales were down 6.6 percent to 17,180 units in January from 18,401 units in the same month a year ago. 

Month-on-month, CAMPI and TMA sales in January dropped 30 percent from the 33,715 units sold in December last year. 

In terms of the ranking of CAMPI members by sales performance, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. maintained its leadership with a 37.47 percent market share. 

Placing second was Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. which had a 21.12 percent share, while Nissan Philippines Inc. was on third spot with an 11.91 percent share. 

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. ranked fourth with a 7.46 percent share, followed by Ford Motor Co. Phils Inc. with 6.29 percent. 

CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said the group anticipated lower year-on-year sales performance for January due to the adverse effect of the recent Taal Volcano eruption. 

“Majority of plants and some dealerships located in South Luzon were badly hit by ashfall, also affecting operations in some areas of Metro Manila. Some companies were also forced to temporarily suspend its operations for safety reasons,” he said. 

Despite the lower sales registered in January, he said the industry remains optimistic it could get back on track in the coming months. 

“We will continue to work double time to catch up on last month’s losses. We assure our customers the highest level of quality in our products and services because safety and consumer satisfaction are our priorities,” he said. 

Last year,  combined CAMPI-TMA sales went up 3.5 percent to 369,941 units from 357,410 units in 2018 amid strong performance of the CV segment.