CAMPI expects vehicle sales to rebound by Q4

CEBU, Philippines —  The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) expects vehicle sales to recover by the fourth quarter this year, as some markets in the Philippines have already eased quarantine measures.

“We hope to see some gradual recovery perhaps by fourth quarter of the year,” said CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez in a report.

Car sales recovered in May after posting the lowest level in April as the government eased community quarantine restrictions, especially in Metro Manila.

On the other hand, sales in May went down by 85 percent on weak demand for both passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV).

CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association’s (TMA) latest data revealed that the combined sales of the two groups jumped to 4,788 units in May from just 133 units in April.

Increased of sales in May compared in the previous month was expected as the month of April was the height of the strict lockdown.

CAMPI and TMA’s sales in May this year, however, were way below the 30,998 units sold in the same month last year.

PC sales in May reached 1,389 units, down 85 percent from 9,053 units in the same month a year ago.

CV sales also declined by 85 percent to 3,399 units in May from the previous year’s 21,945 units.

“While May figures are still way below the industry’s monthly average sales performance, we welcome any positive signs of recovery amid the pandemic and this season of new normal where dealerships have resumed operations at a reduced level and stringent safety protocols are being implemented at all times,” Gutierrez said.

For the January to May period, CAMPI and TMA sales declined by 51 percent to 69,463 units from 142,185 units in the same period last year.

PC sales slid by 55 percent to 19,201 units in the five-month period from 42,886 units in the same period a year ago.

CV sales also fell by 49 percent to 50,262 units from January to May compared to last year’s 99,299 units.

Gutierrez said the industry anticipates a slower consumer demand for new vehicles for the coming months as cars are considered as big-ticket investments.

In May this year, Ford Philippines launched its latest Ford Everest Sport line up, despite fragile market condition under the Coronavirus pandemic era.

PK Umashankar, managing director, Ford Philippines said the company has tweaked its marketing approach under the new normal scenario, by increasing its market engagements digitally.

The American premium car maker, is also implementing easy acquisition packages for buyers, in partnership with various banking institutions considering the brunt of the pandemic to people’s wallets.

Ford Philippines is offering “buy now, pay later” option to address the current circumstance.