(Excerpt)
New vehicle sales in the Philippines stood at 30,988 units
during May, up 1.2% year on year (y/y), reports the Philippine
Star, citing data released by the Chamber of Automotive
Manufacturers of the Philippines Incorporated (CAMPI) and the Truck
Manufacturers' Association (TMA) . Of this total, sales of
passenger vehicles fell by 3.7% y/y to 9,053 units, while
commercial vehicle (CV) sales rose 3.4% y/y to 21,945 units. In the
year to date (YTD), total vehicle sales in the country remained
flat at 142,185 units, compared with 142,240 units in the same
period last year. This is split between passenger vehicle sales of
42,886 units (down 11.1% y/y) and CV sales of 99,299 units (up 5.6%
y/y). "At the start of the year, we saw a big gap in sales versus
last year," said CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez. "As we move
forward, we can see positive signs of recovery. Our May
year-to-date sales are already at par with last year's figures.
With stable economic trends, we are optimistic [that we will] end
the year with market growth."
Significance: The Philippine new vehicle market
is showing signs of recovery on the back of new model launches and
expansion in dealership networks. The market has remained in
positive territory for the past four months and the YTD sales data
also reached the same level as last year. The growth in May was
mainly due to a low base of comparison and strong demand for CVs in
the country . However, demand for passenger vehicle continued to
remain on the negative side. As reported earlier, the industry
hopes to recover with a 10.0% y/y increase in sales during 2019.
IHS Markit expects light-vehicle sales in the country, including
passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, to grow by 8.9%
y/y to 422,827 units in 2019, mainly thanks to new model launches
and a low base of comparison.
