The numbers are in, and so far, things haven’t been good as far as local car sales go. But there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.
According to data provided by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), car sales are down this year compared to 2019 figures—no doubt heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Combined, CAMPI and AVID member car manufacturers sold a total of 162,595 units from January to September 2020. In contrast, these carmakers moved 296,864 vehicles over the same period last year. That’s a drop of 135,454 units—a massive 45% dip. But there has been a noticeable bounce back after an extended period of economic inactivity in the second quarter of 2020, showing evidence of ‘revenge’ purchasing. Although it doesn’t help that the pandemic has proven what we’ve always known—public transport is hell.
The country’s top player remains Toyota Motor Philippines, which has sold 63,182 units (including Lexus vehicles) so far in 2020. Coming in at a distant second is Mitsubishi Motors Philippines with 26,287 units sold, and rounding out the top three is Nissan Philippines with 15,568 units. Coming in at fourth and fifth in sales are Hyundai Asia Resources (12,346 units) and Suzuki Philippines (10,491), respectively.
Light commercial vehicles (LCV) and Asian utility vehicles (AUV) have been the biggest movers so far with 106,348 units sold this year. Passenger cars, meanwhile, have racked up sales of 50,548 units. The rest of the total is made up of trucks, buses, and other vehicle segments.
You can check out the full CAMPI and AVID year-to-date (YTD) breakdown per brand below:
CAMPI and AVID YTD sales 2020
Brand |
Official distributor |
2020 YTD sales |
| Toyota, Lexus | Toyota Motor Philippines | 63,182 |
| Mitsubishi | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines | 26,287 |
| Nissan | Nissan Philippines | 15,568 |
| Hyundai | Hyundai Asia Resources | 12,346 |
| Suzuki | Suzuki Philippines | 10,491 |
| Ford | Ford Philippines | 9,364 |
| Honda | Honda Cars Philippines | 8,420 |
| Isuzu | Isuzu Philippines | 7,211 |
| Foton | Foton Motor Philippines | 1,664 |
| Kia | Adventure Cycle Philippines | 1,426 |
| Hino | Hino Motors Philippines | 1,344 |
| Geely | Sojitz G Auto Philippines | 1,185 |
| Mazda | Bermaz Auto Philippines | 987 |
| Fuso | Sojitz Fuso Philippines | 432 |
| BMW | SMC Asia Car Distributors | 414 |
| Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge | Auto Nation Group | 391 |
| Subaru | Motor Image Pilipinas | 390 |
| Chevrolet, MG | The Covenant Car Company | 341 |
| Others | Others | 170 |
| Volkswagen | Automobile Central Enterprise | 134 |
| Peugeot | Eurobrands Distributor Inc. | 114 |
| Jaguar, Land Rover | Coventry Motors Corporation | 111 |
| GAC | Legado Motors | 104 |
| JAC | Triesenburg Auto Corporation | 94 |
| Changan | Berjaya Auto Asia | 90 |
| Lotus, Mini | British United Automobiles | 82 |
| Tata | Pilipinas TAJ Autogroup | 79 |
| MAN | MAN Automotive Concessionaires | 74 |
| Volvo | Scandinavian Motors | 41 |
| BAIC | Universal Motors | 31 |
| Ssangyong | Ssangyong Berjaya Motor Philippines | 18 |
| Iveco | Columbian Motors Corporation | 10 |
| JMC | Dreamco Automotive | - |
| Jinbei Auto | IKK Ichigan | - |
| Daewoo | CMANC | - |
| Rolls-Royce | British Bespoke Automobiles | - |
| Aston Martin | DBPhils Motorsports | - |
| Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini | PGA Cars | - |
| Total | 162,595 | |
Despite these figures, the industry seems convinced that sales will continue to climb moving forward. CAMPI and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) president Atty. Rommel Gutierrez expressed confidence that the local automotive industry will continue to bounce back in the last quarter of 2020, though he added there’s still some uncertainty surrounding consumers’ willingness to spend.
“CAMPI remains optimistic that the automotive sector will recover until the end of the year amid the new normal environment as the industry posted double-digit growth of 37% [from August] in September,” Gutierrez said, adding that “demands for new cars posted double-digit growth on all vehicle categories except trucks and buses. But we are still cautious that consumer spending is below pre-pandemic levels due to the evident shifts to essentials goods and services.”
AVID president Ma. Fe Perez Agudo, meanwhile, said that the current goal is to continue to restore consumer confidence.
“We had to restore consumer confidence quickly and decisively so the auto industry could get back on track and bounce back strong,” Agudo stressed.
“We aim to sustain this momentum until the last quarter of the year as we continue to reinvent ourselves, innovate, and capture our customer’s imagination. This will put us in a great position as we start afresh in 2021.”
So, how long do you think it will be before car sales return to pre-pandemic levels? Do you expect the local auto industry to get a boost this coming holiday season? Let us know in the comments.
