Industry group expects record PH auto sales for 2016

The Philippine automotive industry expects another banner year as vehicle sales are forecast to reach a high of 360,000 units in 2016, on the back of rising incomes, stronger appetite from the domestic market, and improving local economy.

The new forecast—which reflected a 12.5-percent increase in vehicle sales compared to the 320,000 units sold last year—was slightly higher than the 350,000-unit target issued by the Chamber Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) earlier this year.

Campi members account for about 85 percent to 90 percent of this forecast, Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said.

According to Gutierrez, the commercial vehicle segment, particularly the sports utility vehicles (SUV), is expected to drive sales significantly higher this year, as it accounts for 65 percent of total sales.

So far, the local automotive industry has shown sustained growth performance, as the first six months of the year saw vehicle sales rising by 27 percent to 167,481 units, compared to the 131,465 units sold a year ago.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez said the group was amenable to the proposed emergency powers that the Duterte administration was considering to help ease traffic in Metro Manila.

He, however, cautioned that this should be done so without having to compromise the local automotive industry, especially since the government has just rolled out the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program, which offers P27 billion in incentives to boost local vehicle production.

“Any regulation should be geared toward addressing the traffic management not on the regulation on the sale of motor vehicles. A vehicle has now become a necessity mainly because of traffic, but also because people can now afford it. And we project that our sales [figures] are poised to further grow. The projection was that vehicle sales will hit 500,000 units by 2020,” Gutierrez explained.

The idea of granting emergency powers to address Metro Manila traffic was first raised by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade during a forum held in Davao City early June this year. President Duterte then repeated the call during his first State of the Nation Address last month. The emergency powers, he had assured, would only be used to open up blocked roads and construct more roadways and train lines.