MANILA – After three consecutive months of recording monthly sales growth, vehicle sales in August 2020 declined as a stricter community quarantine measure was implemented in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal last month.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) reported Monday that the group’s vehicle sales in August decreased by 12.8 percent to 17,906 units from 20,542 units sold in July.
Year-on-year sales dropped 39.5 percent in August 2020 from 29,599 units in the same month of 2019.
CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said the decline in August sales was due to the low business and consumer confidence when the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) was implemented in the Mega Manila area from Aug. 4 to 18.
“Spending remains a challenge especially for big-ticket items such as cars,” Gutierrez said.
Sales of locally assembled vehicles from January to August this year plunged by 47.6 percent to 123,489 units from 235,544 units in the same period last year.
Sales of passenger cars in the first eight months of 2020 dropped by 49.7 percent to 35,523 units from the previous year’s sales of 70,596 units.
Commercial vehicle sales likewise declined by 46.7 percent to 87,966 units in January to August 2020 period than the same period in 2019 with 164,948 unit sales.
All sub-segments of commercial vehicles recorded decrements between 27 percent and 52 percent.
Eight-month sales of Asian utility vehicles reached 16,830 units, light commercial vehicles at 66,561 units, light trucks at 2,377 units, trucks and buses category four at 1,596 units, and category five at 602 units.
Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, and Ford remain the market leaders. (PNA)
