By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Journalist
PHILIPPINE CAR FOR SALE derose 19% in April as rising oil prices linked to the Middle East war continued to sap energy.er the need for gas-powered vehicles, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck ManManufacturers 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 revealed that car sales fell by 18.9% to 27,225 in April from 33,580 sold in the same month last year.
This was the biggest drop in car sales since the 11.5% drop in August 2021.
Monthly total vehicle sales were down 24.6% from 36,104 sold in March.
Including other industry data, CAMPI said overall vehicle sales fell 8% to 32,400 year-on-year in April.
“Although the market has not fully recovered from the decline in the second semester of last year, this was also disrupted due to the oil crisis as customers are carefully considering the purchase of their vehicles,” said CAMPI President Jose Maria M. Atienza in a statement.
Sales of passenger cars, which accounted for 20.49% of sales, fell 14.2% to 5,578 in April from 6,498 sold in the same month last year. It was also down 19.66% from 6,943 units sold in March.
Sales of commercial vehicles, which accounted for 79.51% of the industry, fell 20.1% to 21,647 in April from 27,082 sold in the same month last year. Month-on-month, sales were down 25.8% from 29,161 units sold in March.
Small car sales fell 16.3% to 16,885 in April from 20,165 sold a year ago, while Asian car sales fell 32% to 4,077 from 5,992 sold in the previous period.
Small and medium truck sales in April fell 12.8% and 29.2% to 435 units and 206 units, respectively. Heavy duty truck sales also fell by 61.7% to 44 units in April.
In the first four months of the year, overall vehicle sales fell by 11.8% to 132,867 units from 150,654 units sold in the same period last year.
From the end of April, passenger car sales fell 16.5% to 25,746, while car sales fell 10.6% to 107,121.
Managing Director of Chinabank Capital Corp. Juan Paolo E. Colet attributes the decline in car sales to rising pump prices and other inflationary pressures.
“Higher prices of fuel and other commodities affect the budgets of potential buyers and thus the overall demand for cars,” he said in a Viber message.
Inflation rose to a three-year high of 7.2% in April as rising oil prices pushed up the cost of basic necessities such as food and transport.
Pump prices have risen since the Iran war began on February 28 amid disruptions to global oil supplies.
Mr. Colet also noted that some businesses are pulling back on buying cars because of the weak economy.
He said the outlook for gas-powered cars “will remain challenging” throughout the year, he said.
THE NEED FOR EV
“EV demand is expected to strengthen as preferences change into costsfthermal vehicles that do not rely on fossil fuels,” added Mr. Colet.
In April, overall EV (xEV) sales increased 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), was down 4.8% month-on-month in sales from 6,148 units sold in March.
In the first four months of the year, xEV sales rose 158.9% to 17,655 from the 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 made the sales of HEVs at the end of April increase by 115.3% with 12,368 units.
BEV sales in April jumped 46.5% to 419 units in April, while PHEV sales rose 5,678.3% to 1,329 units in April.
In the January to April period, BEV and PHEV sales increased by 176.9% and 2,531% to 2,708 units and 2,579 units, respectively.
“Customers are well aware of what works these days, so there is an increase in demand for energy-efficient vehicles such as xEVs and low-speed, fuel-efficient internal combustion engines (ICE),” said Mr. Atienza of CAMPI.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. it remained the market leader as of the end of April with a market share of 49.83%, despite an 8% drop in sales to 66,206 units during that period.
This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., despite an 18.1% drop in sales to 24,371 units in the four-month period. Suzuki Phils., Inc. ranked third in market share as sales fell 10.2% to 6,289 units at the end of April.
Rounding out 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% price drop to 4,877 units.
