Vehicle sales slip 1.6% in first semester

REFLECTING THE impact of a production slowdown prompted by the Japan crisis in the second quarter, vehicle sales in the first half slid 1.6 percent to 70,000 units from 71,121 units in the same period last year.

According to documents from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association, sales in June alone dropped 15.2 percent to 10,913 units from the 12,945 units sold in the same month a year ago.

Campi said in a statement issued yesterday that while vehicle demand continued to be strong in June, industry players were unable to meet all orders due to delays in the delivery of integral parts and components from Japan.

The group expressed confidence, however, that this was merely a temporary setback and that sales would be able to recover in the remaining two quarters of the year.

“Campi is projecting a recovery toward the third and fourth quarters owing to the fact that the supply problem is a temporary situation. With manufacturers in Japan starting to normalize their operations, the industry is expecting that the impact of the Japan crisis in the domestic auto industry will taper off going into the current quarter,” the group said.

In the first six months, sales of all vehicle types—except light trucks, trucks and buses—dipped.

Commercial vehicle sales showed a 2-percent decline to 46,504 units in the first semester from the previous year’s 47,447 units due mainly to supply limitations. Passenger car sales, on the other hand, dropped just 0.8 percent to 23,496 units from 23,674 units last year.

Last month alone, sales of commercial vehicle models plunged 16.5 percent to 7,050 units from the 8,444 units sold in the same month a year ago. Sales of passenger cars also fell to 3,928 units, 12.7-percent slower than June 2010’s 4,501 units.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. continued to occupy the No. 1 spot with sales reaching 24,984 units in the first half for a 35.7-percent share of the market.

Taking the second spot was Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., which sold 16,865 vehicles for a 24.1-percent share of the pie. Third was Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 6,991 units in sales and a market share of 10 percent.

These sales data did not include figures from non-Campi members, particularly Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., which sold 10,355 units in the first half.