Vehicle sales down 3.5% in first 9 months

Vehicle sales in the first three quarters continued to be sluggish, slipping 3.5 percent to 105,663 units from 109,517 units in the same period last year.

According to documents from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association, the ill effects of the Japan crisis has started to lift in September, but this was not enough to pull nine-month sales up.

The industry showed signs of recovery last month, with vehicle sales rising 1.3 percent to 12,555 units from 12,395 units in the same month last year. September sales were also 8.6-percent better than August’s 11,558 units.

“A combination of factors boosted the monthly sales performance in the various segments, such as improvements in supply of some models, fleet deliveries and introduction of new models,” Campi said in a statement issued Monday.

Commercial vehicle sales dropped 4.1 percent to 70,178 units in the first nine months, from 73,178 units in the same period a year ago. Sales in September alone were likewise slightly lower at 8,360 units from the previous year’s 8,384 units. Compared with August sales of 7,532 units, however, September sales were an 11-percent improvement.

The Asian utility vehicles sub-segment had yet to recover, with sales declining to 25,859 units in the January-September period, 4.7 percent lower than the 27,143 units sold in the same period the previous year.

In September alone, AUV sales suffered a 7.8-percent drop to 2,813 units from 3,050 units in the same month last year. On a sequential basis, sales were down 9.8 percent from 3,118 units in August.