THE growth of the local auto industry lost steam in May as the supply-chain woes caused an 11-percent drop in sales compared with a year ago.
The effects of the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed several auto-parts plants in Japan in March were already evident in May as the lack of supply resulted in a low sales volume of 10,913 units. This was also lower compared with the April 2011 sales of 11,816 units.
“As expected, we will feel the brunt of the effect of the disaster in the months of May and June. We are hoping to recover starting July onward,” Elizabeth Lee, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), said.
Despite the low sales volume in May, the industry still managed a slight 1.5-percent growth for the first five months, Lee said. Sales for the January-to-May period totaled 59,022.
“The demand is there. We just need to catch up with our supply to meet those demand expectations. One thing is clear—buyers continue to patronize vehicles sold by Campi members, with some waiting for their specific choice of vehicles to be filled once supply normalizes,” Lee said.
Passenger-car sales grew 2.1 percent year-to-date, with a total of 19,568 units.
Commercial vehicles, on the other hand, grew by 1.1 percent for the period to 39,454 units. Asian utility vehicles (AUVs) reflected a decline of 2.2 percent, selling 14,048 units, with Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) still showing a net positive growth of 2-percent year-to-date, selling 24,242 units nationwide.
Market leader Toyota has already sold 21,468 units for the period for a market share of 36.4 percent and
near flat growth of 0.3 percent.
Mitsubishi continued to perform strongly with a 9.1-percent growth to 14,062 units. It is followed by Honda, 5,938 units (down 19.5 percent); Ford+Mazda, 5,306 units (up 43.7 percent); Isuzu, 3,911 units (down 4.5 percent); Universal Motors, 2,455 units (down 8.7 percent); Columbian Autocar, 1,715 units (down 26.4 percent); Suzuki, 1,571 units (up 0.6 percent); Nissan Motor, 1,318 units (up 22.2 percent); CATS Motors, 407 units (up 21.5 percent); Asian Carmakers (BMW), 290 units (up 29.5 percent); and Pilipinas Hino, 246 units (up 13.4 percent).
“We continue to be cautiously optimistic. We hope to make up for the unserved demand in the next half of the year as the situation improves. We are, likewise, thankful for our customers’ support and understanding of the situation,” Lee said.
