Auto sales report for first quarter of 2018 out, shows slight fall against the previous year

MANILA: There are three main vehicle distributor groups in the Philippines, the CAMPI (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines), AVID (Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors), and TMA (Truck Manufacturers Association). These groups without fail, every year release month-by-month and quarter-by-quarter auto sales report. Earlier today, we got our hands on the consolidated 2018 Q1 auto sales report that not only showed the figures concerning to passenger but commercial vehicles as well.

This quarter, overall auto sales went down by 7.86 percent compared to the same time period in 2017. The reason for which is believed to be the newly imposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN).  This law significantly affected auto prices by -

• Increasing the excise tax on light commercial vehicle and cars which in turn affected the inventories of car dealers
• While TRAIN reduced the personal taxes, it levied additional ones on selected vehicles, thus increasing their prices
• The tax levied on hybrid, electric, pickups, and trucks has been lowered, making them favourably priced

On the situation, CAMPI President, Atty. Rommel Gutierrez said, "We are still optimistic about the market this year as our member brands are set to introduce new and exciting models in the coming months, and we expect our biennial Philippine Motor Show is expected to energize the market this year."

Moving on to the segregation of the 96,804 sales mark achieved in the earlier four months of 2018, here is all you need to know -

• Out of the total units sold -35,815 hailed from the passenger car and 60,989 from the commercial category
• Toyota, like always topped the list by selling 34,400 units, thus bringing its market share total to 35.58 percent
• Mitsubishi followed it by selling 19,555 vehicles, evaluating to 20.2 percent share
• Third in the row is Hyundai with 8.74 percent of market share and 8,861 sold units
• Ford acquired 6.66 percent with 6,648 units
• Honda came in fifth with 6,180 units for a 6.38 percent market share
• Nissan covered 5.91 percent of auto sales share and sold 5,783 units
• Suzuki come seventh with 5.08 percent share selling 4,917 units
• Isuzu came is last in the top eight list as it sales remained limited to 3,796 units getting it 3.92 percent of the market share

Despite the dropping sales, top officials of the CAMPI and AVID expressed their confidence in the market. Ms Ma. Fe Perez Agudo from AVID quoted, “We remain resolute that the stabilizing market condition and the influx of new products and services will serve as ample boost as we wind-up for a stronger 2018.”

With new car scheduled to enter the Philippines market in coming months, we too are optimistic to see improved sales figures in following quarters.