Vehicle sales growth slows down

The Japan crisis has taken its toll on the local automotive industry, stunting sales growth to just 1.5 percent in the first five months to 59,022 units, from 58,176 units in the same period last year.

In May alone, sales plunged by 11 percent to 10,913 units, from the previous year’s 12,266 units, according to data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association.

Campi president Elizabeth Lee attributed the drop in sales to the March 11 earthquake in northern Japan, which damaged plants manufacturing crucial auto parts and components, and the airports used in transporting these parts to the country.

Local assemblers had to implement production cuts to ensure that the parts in their inventory would last until supply from Japan normalizes.

“As expected, we will feel the brunt of the effect of the disaster in the months of May and June. We are hoping to recover starting July onward,” she said in a statement issued Thursday. “We plan to adjust our forecast accordingly after we see the result of the first full six months of sales. We are still cautiously optimistic and look forward to recovery of sales in the next half.”

Campi projected a sales growth of 4-5 percent for the industry this year.

She said the sales decline in May was more a problem of supply than demand. Local buyers still had a significant appetite for new vehicles, which manufacturers had not been able to fully satisfy.

In January to May, sales of commercial vehicles rose by a modest 1.1 percent to 39,454 units, from 39,007 units in the same period a year ago. Sales in May alone stood at 7,639 units, a 5.2-percent drop from last year’s 8,055 units.

Passenger car sales reached 19,568 units in the first five months, a 2.1-percent improvement from the previous year’s 19,169 units. A 22.3-percent plunge was registered in the month of May to 3,274 units, from the 4,211 units sold in the same month last year.

“The expected decline in monthly sales reflects the lack of supply. The same may perhaps be expected for the next month. Overall average for the first five months is still a respectable 11,804 units,” Lee said. “We continue to be cautiously optimistic. We hope to make up for the unserved demand in the next half of the year as the situation improves.”

In the meantime, non-Campi member Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) posted a 3-percent sales growth to 8,062 units in the first five months of the year, from last year’s 7,803 units. In May alone, the company sold 1,643 units, a 6-percent increase from the 1,552 units sold a year ago.

Overall, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. continued to hold pole position, selling 21,468 units in the first five months for a 36.4-percent share of the market. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. claimed second place, with sales reaching 14,062 units for a market share of 23.8 percent.

Hari, which was not included in the Campi rankings, took the third spot.