Auto sales down 13.6% in first seven months

Weighed down by declining consumer spending, the automotive industry suffered a 13.6-percent drop in sales in the first seven months of the year and industry experts said they are not expecting demand to pick up in the latter part of the year.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) show that total industry sales declined by 13.6 percent to 42,604 units from January to July this year compared with last year’s 49,302 units.

The decline in sales was evident across the sector as both passenger car and commercial vehicle sales recorded notable declines.

In particular, sales of passenger cars plunged by more than 27 percent to only 13,111 units in the first seven months of the year from 18,127 units in the same period last year.

Sales performance of commercial vehicles fared much better than passenger cars, slowing down by only 5.4 percent to 29,493 units from 31,165 units a year ago.

The decline did not affect the overall standings of the country’s automotive assemblers, with Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. continuing to lead the industry with 10,358 units sold.

Mitsubishi Motors Phils Corp. emerged as the second biggest seller followed by Honda. Isuzu Phils Corp. was ranked number four by CAMPI followed by Ford Motors Co. Phils Inc.

CAMPI ranked Nissan at 6th and 7th position, but Nissan has pointed out that the car firm should actually be ranked number four based on the combined sales of Nissan Motors Phils Inc. and Universal Motors Corp.

In terms of passenger cars, Honda remained the country’s top car producers, with sales reaching 4,781 units for the seven-month period. Toyota’s passenger car sales was a far second at 2,233 units. Mitsubishi slipped to number four slot as Nissan was able to climb a notch higher.