Automology’s Philippines correspondent, HAROLD, reports on the country’s automotive performance.
Total vehicle sales in 2013 for the entire Philippines rose 16% compared to 2012. Based on published reports, combined sales of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI), the Truck Manufacturers Association Inc (TMA) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) reached 212,281 units in 2013, up from over 183,000 units in 2012. This remarkable auto industry growth was triggered largely by the high demand for passenger cars which recorded a strong 26% sales hike to 61 083 units in 2013 from 48,488 units in 2012. CAMPI’s President, Rommel Gutierrez, believes that: “This growth in the passenger car sales was largely fueled by the successful introduction of several new models and the entry of new players in the market.” Demand for commercial vehicles also helped augment the overall sales volumes of CAMPI and TMA, growing 11% to 120,200 units in 2013 compared to 108,161 units a year earlier.
The Topnotchers
Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP), as usual, is the industry leader with 75,161 units, a 15.6% increase from 2012's sales of 65,026 units and now controls a 35.4% market share. Toyota Vios was TMP’s bestseller. TMP has the most number of franchised dealers nationwide.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) garnered the second spot with a sizable 23.7% jump in sales, with a volume of 43,176 units compared to 34,915 units sold in 2012. This was boosted by young Filipinos’ reception of the new Mirage, Mirage G4, as well as the Filipino entrepreneurs’ choice of the facelifted Montero Sport.
Hyundai Asia Resources Inc (HARI) has been one of the industry’s most aggressive players, enjoying consistent sales of their models, such as the Santa Fe, Accent, Elantra and Tucson. HARI was able to sell 22,033 units, just a very slight 0.2% edge over 2012's sales of 21 996 units.
A Close 4th, 5th and 6th
The fourth, fifth and sixth positions in the auto industry are a close fight. In 2012, Honda Cars Philippines Inc was ranked fourth with 12,653 units, followed by Isuzu Philippines Corporation with 11,759 units in fifth and Ford Motor Company Philippines with 9,398 units in sixth.
2013 changed the rankings. Honda still holds a solid fourth place with 13,356 units sold, an increase of 5.6%, thanks to sales of models like the Jazz, City, Civic, CR-Z and CR-V. Ford, however, has the momentum with 13,286 units sold in 2013 or an increase of 41.4% over 2012. The sales jump, given the strong sales of the Ranger, Fiesta, Focus and Explorer, means that Ford Motors, now a distributor, takes fifth place overall and is nipping at the heels of Honda which sold just 70 units more. Isuzu slipped to sixth place but has maintained their sales from 2012, selling 11,793 units in 2013 for a growth rate of 0.3% following the launch of the all new Isuzu D-Max late last year.
The Biggest Gainers
In terms of units sold, there were six big gainers who sold 1000 units more than their 2012 total. Toyota’s gain is in the 5-digit range as they increased their annual sales by 10,135 units. Mitsubishi sold 8,261 units more. Ford released 3888 units more compared to their 2012 total, followed by Chevrolet (The Covenant Car Company) with 1,730 more units, Subaru (MotorImage) with 1,186 units growth and Nissan (UMC) with an increase of 1038 units.
In terms of growth percentages, PGA Cars has the highest as the importer of Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini clocked in a growth of 147.6% over 2012. MotorImage Pilipinas has the second highest sales growth percentage at 67.7%, given the strong sales of the Subaru Forester series. New distributor Berjaya Auto Philippines, after taking over the Mazda brand, saw sales increase by 60% over 2012. Columbian Motors Corporation likewise sold 52.4% more, followed by the Covenant Car Company, whose strong sales of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Sonic and Spin have driven their growth to 52%.
Statistics and image sources: Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc, Truck Manufacturers Association, Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Philippine Star, Vince Pornelos of Autoindustrya, toyota.com.ph
Combined sales figures of CAMPI, TMA and AVID.