Local car manufacturers continue to struggle to move units under the new normal, but cumulative sales over the first quarter of 2021 have managed to surpass numbers from the same period the year prior.
According to the latest Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) vehicle sales data, a total of 76,128 passenger cars, light commercial vehicles (LCV), and commercial vehicles (CV) were sold in the country from January to March 2021. That figure is a 1.46% rise compared with the 75,028 sold over the same span in 2020.
Not surprisingly, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) remains the country’s top performer with total sales of 33,095 units. Following in second and third in sales are its fellow Japanese carmakers Mitsubishi Motors Philippines and Nissan Philippines with 11,788 and 5,198 units sold, respectively. You can check out the sales breakdown per brand below:
Brand |
Official distributor |
Q1 2021 sales |
| Toyota | Toyota Motor Philippines | 33,095 |
| Mitsubishi | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines | 11,788 |
| Nissan | Nissan Philippines | 5,198 |
| Ford | Ford Motor Company Philippines | 5,194 |
| Suzuki | Suzuki Philippines | 4,695 |
| Hyundai | Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. | 3,682 |
| Honda | Honda Cars Philippines | 3,450 |
| Isuzu | Isuzu Philippines Corporation | 3,018 |
| Geely | Sojitz G Auto Philippines | 1,313 |
| Kia | KP Motors Corporation | 1,006 |
| Hino | Hino Motors Philippines | 679 |
| Foton | Foton Motor Philippines | 661 |
| Mazda | Bermaz Auto Philippines | 510 |
| Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, Dodge, Ram | Auto Nation Group | 305 |
| Chevrolet, MG | The Covenant Car Company | 300 |
| Subaru | Motor Image Pilipinas | 236 |
| BMW | SMC Asia Car Distributors | 230 |
| Fuso | Sojitz Fuso Philippines | 196 |
| Jaguar Land Rover | Coventry Motors Corporation | 76 |
| GAC | Legado Motors | 75 |
| Changan | Berjaya Auto Asia | 46 |
| Peugeot | Eurobrands Distributor | 45 |
| Volkswagen | Automobile Central Enterprise | 44 |
| Lotus, Mini | British United Automobiles | 30 |
| Tata | Pilipinas TAJ Auto Group | 30 |
| JAC | Treisenburg Auto Corporation | 25 |
| SsangYong | SsangYong Berjaya Motor Philippines | 23 |
| BAIC | Universal Motors Corporation | 17 |
| MAN | MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corporation | 6 |
| Others | Others | 155 |
| Total | 76,128 |
In a statement, CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez attributed the slow Q1 performance to the effects of COVID-19, as well as the Department of Trade and Industry’s restrictive safeguard duties.
“The auto industry felt the slowdown in sales due to the reluctance of buyers with the additional deposit for some imported vehicles because of the provisional safeguard duty. The lockdown also forced dealers to close operations that badly hit the already struggling auto industry,” Gutierrez said.
AVID president Mari Fe Perez-Agudo, meanwhile, said the sluggish start to the year is owed to low consumer confidence.
“The slow uptick of PC is a result of continued low consumer confidence. But let us not discount the commendable performances of LCV and CV, and the hardworking teams that drive them,” Agudo explained, calling the two segments “our industry’s lifesavers.”
Well, this is a rough way to start 2021—but hey, no one said digging out of this hole was going to be easy. Let’s see if the industry will be able to recover over the next three quarters.
*Note: This story has been edited to correct the Q1 2020 total sales figure, which in the original version was 79,095.
