Truck, car sales dropped 12% in Sept, say Campi, TMA

Truck and carmakers saw their sales drop by more than 12 percent in September from the same month a year ago, after it sold nearly nearly 21,500 units, but the industry is still hoping to end 2021 with better figures.

They sold 21,493 units in September, a 12.4-percent drop from the 24,523 units they sold in the same month last year, according to the latest data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

The data, released on Monday, however still showed that the companies performed better from the previous month, with sales jumping 35.6 percent from August 2021. This brings total sales in the first three quarters to 191,605 units, equivalent to a 29.5-percent increase from the 148,012 units sold in the same nine-month period last year.

Campi’s statement did not comment on the year-on-year decline. Instead, it pointed to the improvement of sales from August to September, which Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said was a favorable development that would help the industry reach its yearend goal.

Back in August, Gutierrez said the local automotive industry targets to sell 295,400 units in 2021, or 20.9 percent more than the sales in 2020, the first year under the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Amid the challenges, the industry’s optimism still lingers for a better sales performance in the fourth quarter this year,” Gutierrez, an executive of market leader Toyota Motors Philippines Corp., said in the statement.

“This is driven by the overall improved consumer confidence resulting from a more buoyant economic condition and household spending, according to the recent government data,” he added.

Toyota continues to lead the auto market after selling 92,318, or 48 percent of the total units sold by Campi and TMA from January to September.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., Ford Motor Company Philippines, Inc., and Suzuki Philippines, Inc. followed, with a market share of 14 percent, 7.67 percent, and 7.54 percent, respectively. INQ