MANILA, Philippines—Ford Group Philippines posted a 47-percent drop in vehicle sales to 367 units in January this year, from the 688 it sold in the same month last year, as the flood crisis in Thailand continued to take its toll on the supply and delivery of its vehicles.
The company on Monday issued a statement explaining that it had to halt production at its AutoAlliance facility in Thailand for several weeks in the fourth quarter of last year because of the flooding.
The calamity in Thailand disrupted the entire supplier network of the auto industry—the effects of which are still being felt today.
In January this year, Ford said its Ford Fiesta led monthly retail sales with 143 units, continuing to be the country’s best-selling 5-door hatchback.
The Ford Escape turned in a strong month with retail sales of 112 units, while the all-new Ford Explorer continued to generate significant demand with overall customer bookings exceeding 400 units since its launch in October.
Despite the poor performance in January, Ford said it remained confident that sales would improve this year.
It also announced that it would soon launch three more One Ford vehicles and open 12 new dealerships across the country.
“Supply issues caused by the Thai floods caught up with us in January. But our showrooms remained very busy during the month and customer bookings continued to be strong,” said Randy Krieger, president of Ford Group Philippines. “This helped reinforce our confidence in another strong full year ahead, which will be boosted by the launch of more segment-leading global One Ford vehicles.”