Philippine Auto Sales Down 2.8% in First Half of 2009

Automobile sales for the first half of the year went down by 2.8 percent as vehicle sales around the world continue to decline.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that the industry sold 59,910 units from January to June this year, down 2.8 percent from the 61,632 units sold during the same period a year ago.

Auto players remain optimistic with better performance in the next half of the year.

For the month of June alone, the industry sold 10,909 units, underscoring a 4.4 percent increase when compared to the previous month.

“We are thankful that the local Philippine auto sales is holding up and continues to register some growth month on month, even amid the global crisis and considering the negative performance of auto sales in the west and even in Asean, “ CAMPI president Elizabeth H. Lee said. Read more

Local Auto Sales Up 2.7% in February

Auto sales went up by 2.7 percent to 9,027 units in February from a month ago, a good indication that the industry may grow this year despite the dismal performance of the auto industry in other countries, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) said.

“We are indeed thankful and continue to be cautiously optimistic especially when two thirds of the world went into a recession last year and auto sales elsewhere are plunging,” CAMPI president Elizabeth H. Lee said.

“We continue to bank on sustained OFW remittances, the entrepreneurial trend, and the critical stable financing market to help boost sales,” Lee added. Read more

General Motors, Ford, Toyota Sales Plunge as Slump Continues

Major automakers’ US sales continued their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years as huge rebates and low-interest financing failed to spur fearful consumers to make a major purchase.

General Motors’ sales tumbled 53 percent from a year earlier, while Ford’s US sales fell 48 percent. Toyota’s sales fell 40 percent, and the other major Japanese automakers were only slightly better.

The slide casts further doubt on the financial viability of GM and Chrysler, which planned to report its sales later yesterday. They need to sell cars and generate critical cash to supplement the $17.4 billion in government loans that are keeping them in business. Read more

Auto Sales Dip Slightly in January

Local car manufacturers are starting to feel the pinch of the economic crunch with a slight drop in auto sales in January.

According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI), the industry sold only 8,791 units last month, 0.19 percent lower than the 8,808 units sold in January 2008.

Month-on-month data showed that the January 2009 car sales dropped by a double-digit rate of 11.06 percent against 9,885 units sold in December 2008. Read more

Local Car Firms Ask Government to Lower Excise Tax

The local auto industry is asking the government to help local car manufacturers by lowering excise taxes, making permanent investment incentives and buying locally assembled vehicles.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) president Elizabeth H. Lee said there is a need to strengthen the completely knocked down (CKD) business because it is where the jobs are.

Lee estimated that the auto industry supports half a million families as it employs 74,000 workers. Read more

Asian Car Makers Eye Growth in Emerging Markets

Asian car makers will likely shift production and sales efforts to Southeast Asia and other emerging markets as demand from developed countries continues to fall in the next two to three years, global debt watcher Fitch Ratings yesterday said.

“We expect growth mainly from emerging markets. [Japanese and Korean carmakers] will shift to overseas. They will shut down in domestic markets but they will increase production capacity overseas,” Fitch Ratings Director Tatsuya Mizuno told a teleconference yesterday.

Car sales in the Philippines, for instance, bucked the worldwide downturn by growing 5.6% last year, industry data show. Industry and government estimates further show that sales will grow by 2-4% or flatten at worst this year. Read more

Second Semester Recovery in 2009 for Auto Sector Seen

Local car makers are likely to sell fewer cars in the first half compared with a year earlier as a slowing economy and tighter credit cuts into demand.

But local consumer confidence remains fairly high and the industry is expected to recover from the slump in the second semester, Ford Group Philippines President Richard C. Baker told a briefing on Friday.

Asked to comment, the local umbrella group of automakers and distributors – of which Ford is not a member – declined to provide a detailed forecast for the year. Read more

Ford Philippines Post Higher Sales in 2008

Ford Group Philippines reported on Friday an increase in its 2008 sales and remains “cautiously optimistic” as it projects a flat sales growth for the company this year.

“Like Ford Motor Company globally, Ford Group Philippines experienced a lot of bright spots in 2008 despite all the gloom and doom for our industry that has been a constant in the headlines,” Richard Baker, Ford Group Philippines president, said in a briefing Friday.

The joint Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association year-end industry sales report showed that Ford Group Philippines, which includes Mazda, posted a 3.5 percent year-on-year unit sales growth last year as it sold 7,747 units last year, compared with 7,486 in 2007. Read more

Auto Industry Keeps Modest Forecast for 2009

After major foreign auto markets experienced large-scale downturn due to recessions caused by the recent global economic crisis, the Philippine auto sector remained cautiously optimistic projecting a two percent conservative growth prospect for next year.

Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. president Elizabeth H. Lee told The FREEMAN in a statement that they are forecasting only a two percent uptick from 2008 as they are looking at huge possibilities for downturn.

“Growth prospects will slow down; however, it is nonetheless a growth. The conservative growth is dependent on a stable financing environment and relatively strong remittance inflow.  It is hoped that the worst case scenario for the industry is a flat growth but this would still be relatively better compared to the devastating effects of the global turndown on the US auto market,” Lee’s statement reads. Read more

The Year That Was: Local Auto Industry’s Growth Slows in 2008

A government bailout for the Big Three US automakers, the world’s leading carmaker Toyota suffering its first loss in 70 years, and weak sales in the European market. With big players in mature markets in trouble as a result of the slowdown in the world economy, is the Philippine auto industry not far behind?

For 2008, industry insiders are already predicting auto sales to grow much slower than the 18-percent expansion last year, decelerating further to single-digit rate in 2009.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI), the umbrella group of the country’s leading motor vehicle assemblers, however, says the local industry is better off than the American and European markets because growth, albeit small, is still expected. Read more

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