2-month vehicle sales down 15.7%

Vehicle sales fell by 15.7 percent to 18,977 units in the first two months of the year from 22,518 units in the same period last year as the flooding in Thailand continued to put a strain on local supply.

Based on the joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), sales in February grew by 28.7 percent to 10,681 units from 8,296 units in January, indicating a possible recovery from a slump last year brought about by the Japan crisis and the flooding in Thailand.

According to the report, sales of passenger cars in January and February this year registered a 32.5-percent decline to 5,299 units from 7,856 units in the same period last year.

Sales of passenger cars in February alone rose by 39.3 percent to 3,085 units from year-ago level.

Sales of commercial vehicles fell by 6.7 percent in the first two months of the year to 13,678 units from the previous year’s 14,662 units.

For February, however, sales of commercial vehicles rose by 24.9 percent to 7,596 units from the previous month’s 6,082 units.

Sales of Asian Utility Vehicles posted an increase of 15.6 percent year on year to 5,513 units from 4,761 units. The light commercial vehicles segment, however, posted a drop in sales of 17.5 percent to 7,674 units in the first two months of the year from year-ago level of 9,298 units. Sales of light trucks dipped by 0.6 percent to 322 units from 324 units a year ago.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. maintained its top spot in the industry, with its sales as of end-February reaching 7,255 units. TMPC cornered a market share of 38.23 percent.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. came second, with sales reaching 5,062 units during the same period, grabbing a 26.67-percent market share.

On the third, fourth and fifth spots were Isuzu Philippines Corp., Columbian Autocar Corp. and Ford Motor Co. Phils. Inc.

In a separate statement issued Friday, Ford said it posted a 49-percent drop to 415 units in February this year, from the 818 units sold in the same month last year. The company said this was still due to the impact on supply and delivery of the flooding in Thailand.

Ford said the flooding had dragged down the sales of the company’s best-selling models—the All-New Ford Fiesta, Ford Ranger and Ford Everest, as these are all built in Thailand, where many industries, including the automotive sector, were still working on getting back to their pre-flood production schedules.

Ford’s February performance has brought the company’s total vehicle sales in the first two months of the year to 782 units, down by 48 percent from the 1,506 units sold in the same period last year.

Ford Group Philippines president Randy Krieger expressed confidence that the operations of Ford Group in the country would finally normalize within the year as it pushed for the introduction of new models at the Manila International Auto Show.

In particular, Ford will launch the All-New Ranger at the upcoming Manila International Auto Show, along with the All-New Explorer 2.0L GTDi, the first vehicle Ford will introduce to the market featuring its innovative EcoBoost engine technology.