Toyota sees sales hit from Taal eruption

MANILA, Philippines — The local unit of Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. expects the recent Taal Volcano eruption to impact on its sales performance in the first quarter as operations of its Laguna plant and some dealerships in the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) region were affected by the ashfall.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC) chairman Alfred Ty told reporters the eruption of Taal Volcano would affect the firm’s sales in the first quarter.

“You cannot say it (eruption) won’t [dampen] sales. In South Luzon, there was a slowdown,” he said.

He said the ashfall affected the firm’s operations at its assembly plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

TMPC’s plant, which assembles the Vios and Innova, had to stop operations for two days because of the ashfall.

Ty said the eight dealerships in the Calabarzon region were also affected by the volcanic eruption.

He said there were delays in deliveries from dealerships in Calabarzon as cars had to be cleaned and checked after the ashfall.

While the Taal Volcano eruption would have some impact on TMPC’s sales, he said the company still expects to post higher sales in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

Sales of TMPC reached 33,554 units in the first quarter last year.

Last year, TMPC remained the highest seller among automotive firms in the country, holding a 39 percent market share.

The firm sold 162,011 units last year, down 5.9 percent from 153,004 units in 2018.