A mix of good and not-so-good news from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) this month: While the carmakers’ group and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) registered a 4.7% sales increase in July 2021 compared with July 2020, there was a corresponding 4.7% drop in vehicles sold last month compared with June 2021.
For the year-on-year comparison, CAMPI and TMA recorded total sales of 21,498 units in July 2021, versus 20,542 units in July 2020. In June 2021, meanwhile, the two groups’ combined sales tally was 22,550 vehicles, meaning they sold 1,052 fewer units last month.
With tighter COVID-19 restrictions currently in place due to the Delta variant, CAMPI president Atty. Rommel Gutierrez expects a further sales decline in August: “The industry welcomed the year-on-year growth of 4.7%, but anticipates a decline in sales this month with the reimposition of [enhanced community quarantine] in NCR, among other high-risk areas.” As of this writing, the latest ECQ period is scheduled to end tomorrow, August 20.
Year-to-date sales numbers, at least, look rosier. According to the CAMPI/TMA report, the industry has sold a total of 154,265 units from January to July 2021, representing a 46.1% increase over the same period in 2020 (105,583). Toyota Motor Philippines has contributed the most to that total with 74,521 units sold so far this year, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines with 22,504 units. Completing the top five are Suzuki Philippines with 11,635 units, Ford Philippines with 11,441 units, and Nissan Philippines with 10,408 units.
In May this year, CAMPI and TMA bounced back from April’s stricter quarantine with a 23.6% month-on-month sales increase. Another factor that could help the automotive industry recover in the remaining months of 2021 is the removal of safeguard duties on imported vehicles. Carmakers have kept up with their sales promos as well; of note, TMP has an ongoing offer that allows you to drive home a Wigo for less than P6,000 a month. You can check out the latest sales promos here.
