Car sales improved in October but the industry continues to bear the brunt of the supply problem caused by natural calamities that have hit Japan and Thailand--both sources of vehicles sold in the Philippines.
Data from the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association showed that January to October sales were down almost two percent versus sales in the same months last year.
"With the supply situation in Japan moving toward normalization, the automotive industry is bracing itself for the possible impact of another natural disaster being experienced in Thailand," CAMPI said in a statement.
CAMPI said it is closely monitoring the situation in Thailand, and it is hopeful that production and supply will also stabilize soon.
AVID, on the other hand, is more optimistic as it also expects supply conditions to improve. AVID members--British United Automobiles, CATS Motors, Hyundai Asia Resources (HARI), PGA Cars, Scandinavian Motors and The Covenant Car Co.--mostly get vehicles from Korea and Europe.
"Strong sales recovery in October bodes well for positive performance of AVID for the remainder of the year with the boost arising from expectations of improved supply condition and favorable consumer outlook on better cashflow prospects triggered by holiday bonuses and overseas remittances," said AVID president Maria Fe Perez-Agudo, who is also the chief executive of HARI.
| Philippine car sales - October 2011 | |||||
| YTD Ranking | Car company | January to October 2011 | January to October 2010 | October 2011 | October 2010 |
| 1 | Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation | 45,316 | 46,633 | 5,895 | 5,352 |
| 2 | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation | 27,240 | 26,504 | 3,159 | 2,506 |
| 3 | Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. | 16,705 | 17,118 | 1,822 | 1,822 |
| 4 | Honda Cars Philippines Inc. | 10,991 | 14,208 | 871 | 1,140 |
| 5 | Ford Motor Company Philippines Inc. (+Mazda) | 10,543 | 7,953 | 1,141 | 776 |
| 6 | Isuzu Philippines Corporation | 7,968 | 8,725 | 832 | 922 |
| 7 | Universal Motors Corporation | 4,754 | 5,261 | 438 | 502 |
| 8 | Columbian Autocar Corporation | 4,203 | 4,961 | 420 | 538 |
| 9 | Suzuki Philippines Inc. | 3,329 | 3,146 | 309 | 328 |
| 10 | Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. | 2,234 | 2,095 | 162 | 170 |
| 11 | The Covenant Car Company Inc. | 2,154 | 1,649 | 308 | 224 |
| 12 | CATS Motors | 796 | 779 | 68 | 72 |
| 13 | Asian Carmakers Corporation | 631 | 574 | 70 | 55 |
| 14 | Pilipinas Hino Inc. | 436 | 587 | 33 | 92 |
| 15 | PGA Cars Inc. | 390 | 408 | 33 | 43 |
| 16 | Scandinavian Motors Corporation | 194 | 234 | 18 | 22 |
| 17 | Dreamco | 143 | 141 | 11 | 21 |
| 18 | MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corporation | 102 | 57 | 28 | 0 |
| 19 | British United Automobiles Inc. | 101 | Data unavailable |
5 | Data unavailable |
| 20 | Columbian Motors Corporation | 76 | 2 | 19 | 0 |
| Data from the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc., Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines Inc., and Truck Manufacturers Association | |||||
