August vehicle sales drop 12% as lockdowns stifle demand

The lockdowns in Metro Manila and surrounding regions caused truck and car sales to decline by 12 percent year-on-year in August.

Latest available data showed that truck and car companies sold a combined 15,847 units in August, an 11.5- percent drop from the same month in 2020 when they sold 17,906 units, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association.

The year-on-year decline in August, however, was not enough to offset the gain seen from January as total sales hit 170,112 in the first eight months, a 37.8-percent growth from the same eight-month period in 2020 when the quarantine restrictions to contain the COVID-19 were at their strictest.

“The message of this bleak performance is worth noting: stricter lockdown strategy in response to COVID-19 pandemic affects the auto industry’s recovery this year,” said Campi president Rommel Gutierrez in a statement on Friday.

Gutierrez attributed their August performance to the decline in economic activity and consumer spending in general, which were worsened by the stricter lockdown in Metro Manila and nearby provinces reimposed last month.

“The industry targets to achieve total sales of 295,400 units or 20.9 percent growth than the actual sales recorded last year,” added Gutierrez, who is also an executive at market leader Toyota Motors Philippines Corp.

From January to August, Toyota led the market with 82,389 units sold, accounting for 48.4 percent of the total volume. It was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. and Suzuki Philippines, Inc.