Vehicle sales fell 25% in January

Vehicle sales in January this year fell by 25 percent to 8,296 units from 11,046 units in the same month last year, as the flood crisis in Thailand continued to adversely affect local supply.

A joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) also showed that compared to the sales of 10,374 units in December 2011, vehicle sales last month was lower by 20 percent.

According to the report, the inventory of the industry fell short of the demand.

Based on the report, the biggest decline was felt in the passenger car segment, with sales plunging by 44.6 percent to 2,214 units in January from the year-ago level of 3,997 units.

Compared to December 2011, sales of passenger cars last month were lower by 28 percent.

But while Campi reported drop in its member-companies’ sales, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) said sales of its members posted a 37-percent rise in January to 2,526 units from year-ago level.

Growth, AVID said in a statement, was mainly driven by a 71-percent rise in passenger car sales and 6-percent increase in the light commercial vehicle segment.

Month on month, sales of AVID brands in January surged by 35 percent, the group said.

According to Campi, the reported drop in vehicle sales by its members was largely attributed to supply and delivery problems in Thailand.

Sales of commercial vehicles also suffered a 13.7-percent drop to 6,082 units from 7,049 a year ago.

Of the commercial vehicles, only the Asian Utility Vehicle (AUV) segment recorded an increase. AUV sales jumped by 20.4 percent to 2,566 units in January this year, from 2,132 units a year ago. This was due to the introduction of the new Avanza by Toyota Motor Philippines.

In the meantime, sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) fell by 27.4 percent last month to 3,313 units from 4,566 units in the same month last year, due to the drop in the sales mainly of Toyota Hi-Ace, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max.

Campi is, however, optimistic that the local automotive industry will recover this year, with a projected 9-percent growth in sales to about 154,000 units.

Campi president Rommel R. Gutierrez, who is also vice president of Toyota Motor Philippines, earlier said the expected recovery of the industry this year would be driven largely by “stable supply, new models and more aggressive sales efforts” by automotive companies.