Car sales down in August 2020
MANILA – The total vehicle sales dipped by 12.8% with a total sales of 17,906 units in August from 20,542 units sold in July according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufactures of the Philippines (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association.
Atty. Rommel Gutierrez, CAMPI president was quoted saying the low business and consumer confidence was due to the economic slowdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Spending remains a challenge especially for big-ticket items such as cars,” he said. The downturn led to another auto sales decline of about 13%.
He said economic recovery can be a gauge of the industry’s future performance but it would also depend on the policy environment.
“Any restrictive policy such as safeguard duty will only limit the industry’s capability to navigate the current crisis,” he explained. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is conducting a safeguard investigation on imported automobiles after the Philippine Metalworkers Association filed a petition before the COVID-19 pandemic affected the country. CAMPI hopes that the ongoing case evaluation by DTI will consider the impact of the pandemic on auto industry recovery.
The local auto industry has turned to aggressive promotions to boost sales and achieve tis revised sales forecast of 240,000 units in 2020.
“Our objective is to achieve if not outperform this new target. Otherwise, recovery will; be even more difficult,” Atty. Gutierrez said.
The year-on-year comparison, the industry sales fell by 39.5% from 29,599 units sold in August last year.
The year-to-date figures revealed 123,489 units were sold in 2020 showing a 47.6% decline compared with the same period last year. (Melo M. Acuña)
Atty. Rommel Gutierrez, President, CAMPI (Facebook Photo)
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