Cars, trucks sales dip in September
Automotive sales declined in September despite renewed consumer confidence and sustained market momentum.
In a joint report released on Thursday, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said they sold a total of 38,029 units in September.
This is a 3.8-percent decrease from 39,542 units in the same month last year.
Vehicle sales in the January to September period stood at 343,410 units, a 0.3-percent dip from 344,307 units.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said recent bad weather and a series of earthquakes in some parts of the country “fundamentally reduced sales of vehicles and other products.”
Ricafort said that motorcycles, sales of which grew faster in recent months, could have become a more attractive alternative mode of transport for some Filipinos. That is, in terms of lower acquisition costs, maintenance costs, fuel consumption, and space requirements.
This may have held true “amid the boom in delivery and motorcycle taxi services in recent years,” he said in a Viber message.
However, Ricafort said this can also be partly attributed to the higher sales of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles locally, particularly imported ones, which might be excluded from the tally of manufactured or assembled vehicles.
Commercial vehicles accounted for 79.82 percent of the total with 274,104 units.
The remaining 69,306 units (20.18 percent) were passenger cars.
Meanwhile, a total of 20,662 electric vehicles were sold between January and September, mostly hybrid electric vehicles. These accounted for a market share of 6.02 percent. In September alone, 2,223 units of e-vehicles were sold.
Among industry players, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. still dominates the market with a share of 47.99 percent of all units sold.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. followed with 19.05 percent, Ford Group Philippines with 4.86 percent, Nissan Philippines Inc. with 4.84 percent and Suzuki Philippines, Inc. with 4.77 percent.
