Vehicle makers can’t rev sales

Vehicle and truck manufacturers had a flat sales performance in May, selling 30,998 units as the industry still tries to recover from last year’s decline.

This was according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

Vehicle sales reached 30,998 units as of May, 1.2 percent higher than the 30,620 units sold in the same month a year ago.

In the first five months of the year, sales have reached 142,185 units, sliding 0.04 percent from the 142,240 units sold in the same period in 2018.

The auto industry is still trying to recover from last year’s huge drop in volume sales, as demand fell under the weight of the Duterte administration’s higher excise taxes coupled with high inflation rates.

Campi president Rommel Gutierrez, however, believed the industry could still end the year on a positive note, even after companies saw a “big gap in sales” at the start of the year.

“As we move forward, we can see positive signs of recovery.  Our May YTD (year-to-date) sales is already [on a] par with last year’s figures,” he said.

“With stable economic trends, we are optimistic to end the year with market growth,” he added.

After sales fell 16 percent last year, the groups are targeting a 10-percent growth for 2019.