Vehicle sales shoot up 3,500% in May

MANILA: As car dealerships nationwide have reopened with strict safety and health guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a surge in demand for private mobility has also been observed.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) released a joint report that showed the increase of total vehicle sales by a dramatic 3,500% — from 133 units in April to 4,788 units in May.

CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez stated that the automobile industry expected this spike coming from the lowest sales performance that was recorded in April, followed by the easing of the community quarantine restrictions that the government placed in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the entire Luzon in May.

Atty. Gutierrez said that the industry expects reduced demand for new vehicles in the coming months. This can be attributed to the financial status of buyers since the lockdown as most people were not able to work during this period, and operations in private businesses were temporarily suspended.

Nevertheless, CAMPI said it is expecting favorable indications of gradual recovery, which may happen during the fourth quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, consolidated year-to-date (YTD) sales showed a 51.1% drop, with 69,463 units sold compared to 142,185 units during the same period last year.

In terms of month-on-month data, auto sales declined by 84.6%, from 30,998 in May last year to 4,788 in May 2020.

While Toyota Motors Philippines still led vehicle sales last May with 2,431 units, the figure marks a 82.5% plummet from 2019 when Toyota sold 13,889 during the same month. Compared to the April figure though (with only 36 sold), the sales of the auto brand in May grew by a remarkable 6,653% .

Year-to-date, Toyota Motors Philippines has sold a total of 28,163 units, a 52.2% dip compared to 58,886 vehicles sold during the same period last year.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation remains in second place, as it sold 608 vehicles in May — significantly up by 2,663.6% versus April 2020 and down by 88% compared to the sales in May 2019.

The other auto brands making up the top five are (in order) Nissan Philippines, Honda Cars Philippines, and Ford Motor Company Philippines, Inc.

Photo from the Department of Transportation (DOTr)

Also read: Car sales free-fall by 63% in March