Automotive Sales Slides in August

Automotive sales suffered a slight dip last month for the car and truck manufacturers group, records showed.

In a joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), sales declined by 2.4 percent to 29,599 units, compared to 30,313 units recorded in the same period a year ago.

CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez explained that the dive is due to supply constraints and the "run out of outgoing models of some brands have hampered the industry’s rate of recovery in August."

"Together with that, the reality of the seasonal trends in the industry continue to hold true despite the boosted sales and marketing campaigns during the off-peak Month of August," Gutierrez shared.

"Traditionally, August has been a challenging month for the industry however, we expect a positive turnaround this September until the last quarter of the year as the industry introduces new car models along with more innovative and value-laden offers for car buyers," he added.

Sales has also gone slower on a month-on-month basis, decreasing by seven percent against 31,810 units recorded sold in July.

Overall, year-to-date sales picked up by 2.4 percent to 235,544 units versus 229,941 units in the same period last year.

"CAMPI will continue to push for sustainable sales efforts to headline our recovery from last year’s numbers. Our target of 410,000 units remains to be a highly achievable goal for the industry and we expect the road to recovery to continue until the end of the year," Gutierrez concluded.