Auto sales skid 41% last year

MANILA, Philippines — Local vehicle assemblers ended the year with a 40 percent drop in sales as the pandemic affected demand for both passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV).

Vehicle importers also registered a 41 percent decline in total sales last year.

Data released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) showed its combined sales with the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc. (TMA) reached 223,793 units last year, lower than the 369,941 units sold in 2019.

The group’s PC sales slid 36 percent to 69,638 units last year from 109,197 units in 2019.

CV sales declined 40 percent to 154,155 units in 2020 from the 260,744 units sold a year earlier.

In December, total sales of CAMPI and TMA went down 18 percent to 27,596 units last year from 33,715 units in the same month in 2019.

Compared to the 23,162 units sold in November, CAMPI and TMA’s sales rose 19 percent.

CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said the double-digit month-on-month growth in December is a positive development for the automotive industry which aims to bring back sales to pre-pandemic levels.

“It is noteworthy that the holiday season has contributed to the uptick in demand for auto sales in December amid the improving business and consumer confidence,” he said.

“With CAMPI’s year-to-date sales of 223,793 units, we are optimistic that the total industry of 240,000 units for 2020 will be surpassed,” he added.

The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID), meanwhile, said in a statement yesterday it sold only 51,719 units in 2020 compared to 87,169 units in 2019, citing the lockdowns and limited economic activity weakened consumer appetite for cars.

AVID’s PC sales were down 46 percent to 16,588 units last year from 30,484 units in 2019.