Auto sales slid 2.4 percent in August alone, marking the first time year-on-year sales dropped since the slump seen at the start of 2019.
Vehicle manufacturers sold 29,599 units in August, slightly fewer than the 30,313 units sold in the same month a year ago, data released on Thursday showed.
This was based on a joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
The last time Campi and TMA posted a drop in their year-on-year sales was in January, when sales fell 15 percent after a year weighed down by higher excise, rising oil prices, and elevated inflation.
From February to July, there was either growth or at least a flat performance in terms of year-on-year sales. Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said August was usually a “challenging month” for the market.
In the first eight months of the year, sales grew by only 2.44 percent to 235,544 units from 229,941 units sold in the same period in 2018. This was slower than the 3.16-percent year-to-date growth in July.
“Supply constraints and other factors hampered the industry’s rate of recovery in August. Together with that, the reality of the seasonal trends in the industry continues to hold true despite the boosted sales and marketing campaigns during the off-peak month of August,” he said.
“Traditionally, August has been a challenging month for the industry. We expect a turnaround this September until the last quarter of the year as the industry introduces new car models along with more innovative and value-laden offers for car buyers,” he added.
The groups sold 8,781 passenger cars in August alone, marking a 1.2-percent increase from the same month last year. In the first eight months, however, this segment fell 1.5 percent to 70,596 units.
On the other hand, there was a 3.8-percent decline in the commercial vehicle sales to 20,818 units in August. This segment grew 4.2 percent to 164,948 units from January to August, as opposed to the same period a year ago.
Gutierrez said the industry was targeting to sell 410,000 units at the end of the year, which he said was still a highly achievable goal.
He was likely referring to the total sales target for the entire industry, including the sales figures from a group of auto importers called the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc.