Auto sales down in Aug – industry groups
Credit to Author: ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES| Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:26:05 +0000
SUPPLY problems caused automobile sales to fall in August from those posted a year ago, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said on Thursday.
In a joint report, the two industry groups said 29,599 cars were sold last month, down 2.4 percent from 30,313 in the same month last year.
Sales in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment, which accounted for 70.33 percent of the total, declined by 3.8 percent to 20,818 units from 21,635 year-on-year. In contrast, sales in the passenger car segment grew by 1.2 percent to 8,781 units from 8,678.
“Supply constraints and the [running out] of outgoing models of some brands have hampered the industry’s rate of recovery in August,” Campi President Rommel Gutierrez said in a separate statement, adding that the month had traditionally “been a challenging month for the industry.”
“[H]owever, we expect a positive turnaround [from] September until the last quarter of the year as the industry introduces new car models [and] more innovative and value-laden offers for car buyers,” he said.
With a share of 44.39 percent, Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. remained the market leader for August, selling 13,083 units, up 6.2 percent from 12,315 a year ago.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., with a 17.09-percent share, came next with 5,507 units sold, a 7.3-percent increase from last year’s 5,456.
Nissan Philippines Inc. rounded out the list with 3,501 units — translated to an 11.83-percent share — a 22.2-percent decline from 4,500 in 2018.
Year-to-date, auto sales rose by 2.4 percent to 235,544 units from 229,941 on the back of higher CV sales.
Toyota continued to lead for the eight-month period with a 42.73-percent market share. It sold 100,657 units from January to August, up 4.1 percent from last year’s figure.
Mitsubishi secured a market share of 17.42 percent after selling 41,034 units as of end-August, down 7.3 percent from a year ago, while Nissan garnered a market share of 11.9 percent after it sold 28,212 units, up 37 percent from last year’s figure.
“Campi will continue to push for sustainable sales efforts to headline our recovery from last year’s numbers. Our target of 410,000 units remains to be a highly achievable goal for the industry and we expect the road to recovery to continue until the end of the year,” Gutierrez said.