Philippine auto sales slump in April as oil prices surge

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE CAR SALES declined by 19% in April as rising oil prices linked to the Middle East war continue to dampen consumer demand for gas-powered vehicles, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

Electric vehicle (EV) sales emerged as a bright spot, nearly quadrupling in April amid growing demand for energy-efficient alternatives.

CAMPI-TMA data released on Sunday showed that vehicle sales fell by 18.9% to 27,225 units in April from the 33,580 units sold in the same month a year ago.

This was the steepest drop in total car sales since the 11.5% decline recorded in August 2021.

On a monthly basis, total vehicle sales dropped by 24.6% from 36,104 units sold in March.

Including other industry data, CAMPI said total vehicle sales fell by an annual 8% to 32,400 units in April.

“While the market has not fully recovered from last year’s second semester slowdown, this was further affected by the oil crisis with customers carefully considering their car purchase,” CAMPI President Jose Maria M. Atienza said in a statement.

Passenger car sales, which made up 20.49% of total sales, fell by 14.2% to 5,578 units in April from 6,498 units sold in the same month last year. It likewise dropped by 19.66% from 6,943 units sold in March.

Commercial vehicle sales, which accounted for 79.51% of industry sales, declined by 20.1% to 21,647 units in April from 27,082 units sold in the same month last year. Month on month, sales fell by 25.8% from the 29,161 units sold in March.

Sales of light commercial vehicles slumped by 16.3% to 16,885 units in April from the 20,165 units sold last year, while Asian utility vehicle sales dropped by 32% to 4,077 units from 5,992 units sold in the year-ago period.

Sales of light- and medium-duty trucks in April fell by 12.8% and 29.2% to 435 units and 206 units, respectively. Sales of heavy-duty trucks also slumped by 61.7% to 44 units in April.

In the first four months of the year, total auto sales declined by 11.8% to 132,867 units from 150,654 units sold in the same period last year.

As of end-April, passenger car sales decreased by 16.5% to 25,746 units, while commercial vehicle sales slid by 10.6% to 107,121 units.

Chinabank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet attributed the decline in car sales to soaring pump prices and other inflationary pressures.

“High prices for gas and other goods are impacting the budgets of potential buyers and thereby taking a toll on overall vehicle demand,” he said in a Viber message.

Headline inflation accelerated to a three-year high 7.2% in April as elevated oil prices drove up the cost of basic necessities like food and transport.

Pump prices have soared since the Iran war began on Feb. 28 amid disruptions in global oil supply.

Mr. Colet also noted that some businesses are scaling back on their vehicle purchases due to the weaker economic environment.

The outlook for gas-powered cars will “remain challenging” throughout the year, he said.

EV DEMAND
“EV demand is expected to be resilient as preference shifts to cost-efficient cars that are not dependent on fossil fuels,” Mr. Colet added.

In April, total EV (xEV) sales skyrocketed by 288% to 5,855 units from 1,509 units sold in the same month last year.

However, the segment, which includes battery EV (BEV), plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV), and hybrid EV (HEV), saw a 4.8% monthly decline in sales from the 6,148 units sold in March.

In the first four months of the year, xEV sales surged by 158.9% to 17,655 units from 6,820 units sold in the same period last year.

HEVs accounted for 70.15% of EV sales in April, which more than tripled by 242.3% to 4,107 units. This brought the end-April sales in HEVs by 115.3% higher at 12,368 units.

BEV sales in April jumped by 46.5% to 419 units in April, while PHEV sales skyrocketed by 5,678.3% to 1,329 units in April.

In the January-to-April period, BEV and PHEV sales surged by 176.9% and 2,531% to 2,708 units and 2,579 units, respectively.

“The customers are very much aware of what’s practical during these times thus the increased demand for energy efficient vehicles like xEVs and lower displacement, fuel-efficient internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles,” CAMPI’s Mr. Atienza said.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained a market leader as of end-April with a 49.83% market share, despite an 8% decline sales to 66,206 units during the period.

This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., despite an 18.1% slump in sales to 24,371 units in the four-month period. Suzuki Phils., Inc. ranked third in market share even as sales fell by 10.2% to 6,289 units as of end-April.

Completing the top five are Nissan Philippines, Inc., despite a 34.9% drop in end-April sales to 5,323 units and Ford Motor Company Phils., Inc., despite a 27.5% fall in sales to 4,877 units.