Auto industry on a roll as sales soar 33% year-on-year in July
One week ago, the business section of PDI reported that the first semester profit of GT Capital Auto and Mobility Holdings, which lists Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) as one of its business units, hit a record high at P16.6 billion. The story said that TMP’s net income soared 147 percent to P8 billion while revenues grew 25 percent to P106.4 billion with retail vehicle sales rising 17 percent.
On the same day, the front page of the business section headlined the story that the auto industry started the second half of the year with a 33-percent sales surge in July versus the same period in 2022, according to a joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association.
Year-to-date July, 37,086 new vehicles were sold compared to 27,813 in YTD July 2022. The 33-percent jump in total new motor vehicle sales YTD July shows an improvement over the 27-percent increase in sales in the first semester this year, compared to the same period in 2022. A grand total of 239,501 units have been sold by CAMPI and TMA members since January this year.
TMP as of YTD June 2023 held 46.23 percent market share of the automotive industry, making it the biggest contributor to the industry’s growth. No wonder TMP’s celebration of its 35th anniversary this month was the grandest ever.
FORD CEMENTS HOLD ON NO. 3 PERCH
While Toyota’s 46.23-percent market share is not being challenged by the other brands that made it to the top 10 sales performers honor roll, they are challenging one another for a higher ranking.
For example Nissan PH, Inc., which was ranked No. 3 in the first quarter this year, was overtaken by 4th placer Ford Motor Co. PH, Inc. sometime in the second quarter and has held on up to YTD July.
Honda Cars PH, Inc. has been replaced at 5th place by Suzuki PH, Inc., after Honda squeaked past Suzuki in the YTD June 2023 CAMPI sales report by selling 8,668 units versus Suzuki’s 8,615 – a difference of 53 units. In the YTD July sales report, Suzuki recaptured the No. 5 spot by selling 10,174 units compared to Honda’s 10,112 – a difference of 62 units.
Hyundai Motor PH, Inc. rose to 8th place YTD July, in the process demoting Sojitz G Auto PH Corp., the distributor of Geely, to No. 9. Hyundai’s lead over Geely is more substantial: 4,905 units sold versus Geely’s 4,673 – a difference of 232 units.
Isuzu PH Corp. retains its position in the top 10 list, ranking No. 7 although it offers only two passenger vehicle models: the D-Max pickup truck and the mu-X midsize SUV. The Traviz, its No. 1 best-seller, is a light-duty truck/ 3-seater van and the N Series, Isuzu’s No. 3 best-seller, consists of heavy-duty and light-duty trucks.
KP Motors Corp., the distributor of Kia, is still the cellar dweller, occupying No. 10 YTD July same as in YTD March. From January to July this year, KP Motors sold a total of 2,871 units, not much of an improvement over the 2,820 units sold in the same period last year. Two of the top 3 Kia best-selling models, the Stonic and the Soluto, are made in China. The Kia Carnival minivan is
very much in demand, but it is always in short supply, so it couldn’t be included in Kia’s top 3 best-sellers’ list.
EACH BRAND’S 1ST SEM TOP 3 BEST-SELLERS
In the first semester (January to June) this year, the Toyota Vios continued to outsell all other motor vehicles across all categories with 17,989 units sold. As in the first quarter, the best-selling Toyota models after the Vios are the Hilux pickup truck and the Innova MPV.
With 12,257 units sold YTD June 2023, the Hilux is way ahead of the other pickups listed as best-sellers by other brands in the top 10: ahead of the Nissan Navara (5,513 units sold), Ford Ranger, now available in seven variants (5,436 units sold) and the Isuzu D-Max (1,733 units sold.)
In the compact SUV segment, it’s a race between the Ford Territory (4,493 units sold) and the Mitsubishi Xpander (4,443 units sold.) However, the Xpander is not strictly speaking a compact SUV, it is more of an MPV and SUV crossover. The Honda BR-V (4,016 units sold) is a close third in sales, followed by the Geely Coolray (2,048 units sold), Kia Stonic (1,204) and Hyundai Creta (857.) Not many people know that the Ford Territory and Kia Stonic are made in China like the Geely Coolray.
There are only two in the midsize SUV segment: the Ford Everest (3,786 units sold) and the Nissan Terra (2,322) although some may consider the Geely Okavango (905 units sold) a midsize SUV. Unlike the Everest and the Terra, however, the Okavango is not built on a pickup truck platform.
Among the compact MPVs, the newcomer Hyundai Stargazer (1,755 units sold) outsold the Suzuki Ertiga (1,442.) Suzuki PH, Inc. recently introduced a hybrid version of the Ertiga, which should increase sales.
The mini subcompact crossover/SUV S-Presso (2,529 units sold) is Suzuki’s No. 1 best-seller mainly due to its extremely affordable SRP. But it is much smaller than the subcompact crossover/SUV Brio, which is Honda’s No. 3 best-seller with 1,333 units sold.
In the minivan segment, the Toyota Innova outsold competitors with 8,547 units sold YTD June 2023. The Mitsubishi L300 (3,806 units sold) and Nissan Urvan (2,110 units) are more like commercial vehicles than passenger minivans. The Hyundai Staria (975 units sold) more likely belongs to the upscale Toyota HiAce category. The 2024 iteration of the Innova will be a front-wheel-drive hybrid and will be rebadged as the Zenix.
SUMMING UP
Since new motor vehicle sales continued to grow year-on-year for the past 17 consecutive months, CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez, in a press release, expressed optimism that the industry will maintain the strong growth trend for the year. He added that the industry players are inspired to expand their product and service offerings to consumers, “as seeing the continued growing demand for new motor vehicles is indeed a welcome and significant part of growth development.”
