Local vehicle sales recover in May; Toyota still leads
The local automotive industry has started recovering from last year’s slump as vehicle sales in the first five months of the year inched up by 0.6 percent to 59,177 units from 58,847 units a year ago.
Based on the joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), the month of May showed a much stronger performance with a 30.7-percent growth in vehicle sales to 14,265 units from the 10,913 units sold in the same month last year.
According to Campi, the growth could be largely attributed to the “improved supply condition and sustained consumer confidence that was reflected by the 6.4-percent growth in the Philippines economy” in the first quarter of the year.
“During the first four months of the year, the industry posted minimal sales growth due to the continued limitations in supply still brought about by the effects of the flooding in Thailand last year. However, because of exciting new model introductions, improved supply conditions and the country’s thriving economy, all brands still maintained a good showing during this period,” according to Campi president Rommel Gutierrez.
“This May, we have seen drastic improvements in the industry because manufacturers are able to serve strong customer demands due to the stabilization of the supply situation. We are very optimistic that the strong performance in May is a clear sign that the industry is on the road to recovery and can achieve record-breaking sales for 2012,” Gutierrez said.
According to the report, sales of passenger cars alone in the January-May period declined 9.5 percent to 17,616 units compared to the 19,462 units sold during the same period last year. From the previous month, however, May 2012 sales of passenger cars were higher by 15.5 percent to 4,274 units.
Sales of commercial vehicles rose slightly by 5.5 percent in the first five months of the year to 41,561 units from the previous year’s 39,385 units. For May alone, sales of commercial vehicles similarly rose by 16.1 percent to 9,991 units from the previous month’s 8,602 units.
As of May 2012, Toyota Motor Philippines continued to lead the industry with a 39.7-percent market share followed by Mitsubishi Corp., with a 23.9-percent share. Isuzu Philippines registered an 8.1 percent share as of end May this year.
The sales performance of companies under the Automotive Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) was not yet included in the vehicle sales for the first 5 months.
