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Philippines: Automakers risk falling short of lowered forecast after November slump
MANILA, Philippines — Strong typhoons that slammed Luzon hurt demand for cars in November, pushing sales down back in the red and marking a major setback for the auto industry’s goal of hitting a watered down projection this year.
Car and truck manufacturers sold 23,162 units in November, down 7.4% on a month-on-month basis, a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association showed on Wednesday.
Compared to the same period last year, sales plummeted for the ninth straight month by 32.8%, figures showed. The industry characterized the latest drop as a “modest slowdown” attributed to consumers opting to stay home during natural calamities that sliced through Bicol Region, Central Luzon and National Capital Region where sales sagged 8.3% month-on-month.
With only a month left in 2020, CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said December is a make-or-break period for the industry’s bid to reach a tempered target of 240,000 cars and trucks sold this year. From January to November, automakers sold 196,197 units, down 41.6% year-on-year, set for the lowest sales since 2015.
“We remain optimistic in sustaining this level of sales performance for this month, which is critical for the industry to achieve its sales forecast,” Gutierrez said in a statement.
A struggling auto industry paints a bleaker picture for the Philippines’ consumer reliant economy, which typically uses sales of durable goods like vehicles as critical indicator of the economy’s health. In the third quarter, gross domestic product sustained a double-digit annual slump of 11.5%, signaling a turbulent road to recovery from a pandemic-induced slump.
Broken down by type of vehicle, light utility vehicles, including commuter vans and pick-ups, accounted for the bulk of sales. Data showed 11,579 of this type of vehicles were sold last month, down 37.3% year-on-year and 6% from previous month.
The segment accounted for 76.03% of total 11-month sales at 102,896, down 45% on-year.
Commercial cars, meanwhile, accounted for 66.37% and 68.98% of total sales in November and the first 11 months, respectively. Sales under this segment plummeted 38.3% annually last month and 4.1% month-on-month.
Commercial car sales sank 42.7% from January to November, data showed.
Passenger cars dipped 18.4% from same period a year ago to 7,790 units last month and slumped a slower 13.33% from October. Since the start of the year, the number of passenger vehicles sold reached 60,857, down 41.6% and cornering 31.02% of the auto market.
Meanwhile, smaller Asian utility vehicles bucked the downtrend as 2,879 units were sold in November, up 4.2% month-on-month but down 45.2% from same period a year ago. Industry data showed 25,145 AUVs had been sold from January to November, sliding 30.9% year-on-year.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/12/16/2064207/automakers-risk-falling-short-lowered-forecast-after-november-slump