CAMPI, TMA end 2019 with 369,941 unit sales, up 3.5%

Graphs by Aida Sevilla Mendoza

Up one year, down the next, then up again like a yoyo.

In 2017, the automotive industry posted a high of 448,107 total vehicle sales, encouraging industry leaders to envision a sales target of 500,000 for 2020.

But in 2018, thanks to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that hiked the excise tax on new car sales starting in January 2018, and was aggravated by an inflation rate that soared to 6.7% in September, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) saw their sales plunge to 357,410 units.

When combined with the total sales for 2018 reported by the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), the industry’s total vehicle sales added up to 382,361 units, a 16 %drop.

Now, the good news is that CAMPI and TMA closed 2019 with a 3.5 %uptick in total sales to 369,941 units compared to 2018.

They failed to fulfill their cautiously optimistic forecast of 10 percent growth for 2019 after the inflation rate and oil prices eased in December 2018, but as CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said, ending the year with positive figures is a welcome relief for the industry coming from a double-digit decline the previous year.

AIMING FOR FURTHER GROWTH. In a press statement, Gutierrez, who is concurrently 1st vice president of Toyota Motor Philippines, added: “The year 2019 has been challenging for the industry due to various internal and external factors. Thankfully, the industry’s collective efforts, supported by sustained economic growth, have paid off. We will not rest on our laurels as we aim for further growth in the coming months, and hopefully for the whole of 2020.”

He noted that the industry remains optimistic that the overall sales target of 410,000 units for 2019 will be achieved when (AVID) releases their full year sales report.

In fact, if we were to add the 33,763 total vehicle sales in 2019 of AVID member Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) alone, the overall sales of the industry would already reach 403,704, needing only 6,296 more unit sales from other AVID members to hit the 410,000 target.

HARI is the top-selling member of AVID, which is headed by HARI president/CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo. Hyundai is the only brand from AVID that has managed to maintain its position in the Top 5 Magic Circle of the industry ever since it rose to No. 3 in 2010 but was dislodged to 4th place by Nissan in the first semester of 2019.

MAJOR CHANGES

But let’s not get ahead of the story. Compared to the Top 10 Sales Performers list of 2018, the 2019 list reflects three major changes in rankings:

1) By midyear 2019, NISSAN had overtaken Hyundai to grab third place and by year-end 2019, Nissan had increased its lead over Hyundai from 3,406 units to 8,931 units by selling 42,694 vehicles compared to Hyundai’s 33,763 (see graph.)

In the process, Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NPI) scored 22.2 % growth for 2019 versus 2018, boosted by its best-selling nameplates: the Navara pickup truck (19,089 units sold), Terra midsize SUV (10,469) and Urvan (7,157).

2) SUZUKI Philippines, Inc (SPH), which was ranked 7th at year-end 2018, leapfrogged over Honda Cars PH by midyear 2019 and by year-end 2019 replaced Ford Motor Co. PH, Inc. at 5th place with total sales of 23,919 for the full year 2019 versus Ford’s 21,900 units sold last year.

NPI and SPH are the only brands in the Top 10 that achieved double-digit growth percentages. SPH closely followed NPI by posting 21.2 % growth in 2019.

SPH’s amazing rise was fueled by its best-selling models: the Ertiga compact MPV (8,132 units sold), Vitara subcompact crossover (2,631) and Celerio mini subcompact (2,392).

BEST SELLING MODELS OF TOP 10 PERFORMERS IN 2019

3) KIA, which was relaunched in February 2019 by new Ayala-controlled distributor Adventure Cycle PH, Inc. (ACPI), re-entered the Top 10 list by midyear 2019, and by year-end 2019 replaced Foton Motor PH, Inc. at 9th place with sales of 5,019 vehicles, up an astounding 124.3% from the 2,238 units sold by the former Kia distributor in 2018.

In other words, Kia achieved triple-digit growth. Kia’s Power to Surprise was unboxed by its best-selling nameplates: the newly introduced made-in-China Soluto subcompact sedan (2,559 units sold), K2500 light duty truck (1,054) and 7-seater Grand Carnival minivan (652).

SINGLE-DIGIT GROWTH. Meanwhile, undisputed market leader Toyota Motor PH Corp. (TMP) and cellar dweller Foton Motor PH, Inc. (FMP) also registered growth percentages, but only single-digit ones.

TMP sold 162,011 vehicles during 2019, a 5.9% growth over its recorded 153,004 units sold in 2018, while FMP posted 3.7% growth by selling 4,293 units last year compared to 2018’s 4,141.

TMP’s best-selling models in 2019 were led, as expected, by the Vios subcompact sedan (33,181 units sold), followed by the Hilux pickup truck (20,846) and the Innova MPV (20,794). The Vios retains its crown as the top-selling motor vehicle in the Philippines across all categories and segments.

Foton slightly increased its sales to 4,293 in 2019 from 4,141 in 2018 to stay in 10th place, down from 9th in the first half of 2019. Kia (ACPI) replaced Foton at 9th spot by selling 726 more vehicles than FMP.

The best-selling Foton models last year were the Tornado light duty truck, Gratour MT and TM, and TransVan. However, FMP did not reveal the sales figures of their top three.

DISLODGED. Compared to 2018, when total vehicle sales of seven of the Top 10 declined, in 2019 only five of the Top 10 did not post growth: Mitsubishi Motors, Hyundai, Ford Motor, Honda Cars, and Isuzu.

As a result, the five except for Mitsubishi and Isuzu were dislodged from their 2018 positions.

Hyundai lost 3rd place to Nissan, Ford was replaced at 5th spot by Suzuki, Ford pushed Honda down to 7th from 6th, and 9th placer Foton gave way to Kia (ACPI).

Mitsubishi easily held on to second place behind Toyota by selling 64,065 vehicles. The best-selling Mitsubishi nameplates in 2019 were the Expander compact MPV (19,089 units sold), Mirage G4 mini subcompact sedan (17,835) and Montero Sport midsize SUV (12,861).

Isuzu managed to hang on to 8th place despite selling 2,758 less vehicles in 2019 compared to 2019. Excluding their N-Series heavy duty trucks, Isuzu’s best-selling vehicles in 2019 were the mu-X midsize SUV (4,699 units sold) and the D-Max pickup (2,985).

HYUNDAI: FROM 3RD TO 4TH. In a press release, HARI president/CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo reported that the leading Korean brand ended the year strong with 2.9% growth in December 2019 or 3,163 units sold versus the same month in 2018. It was also the third month in 2019 that HARI breached the 3,000-unit sales mark.

For the full year, Hyundai sales reached 33,763 units, enabling it to stay in the Magic 5 Circle of the Top 10 at 4th place. Agudo explained that the 6.1% drop in sales was mainly due to the company’s non-participation in some market segments, such as that of pickup trucks.

Agudo was obviously referring to the Navara, Nissan’s best-selling model (19,098 units sold in 2019) which ranks second only to the Toyota Hilux (20,846 units sold in 2019) in the pickup truck segment. Nissan overtook Hyundai in sales as early as the first semester of 2019 to grab the No. 3 rank.

The best-selling Hyundai models last year, according to HARI Marketing, were the Accent subcompact passenger car, the made-in-China Reina subcompact sedan and the Kona subcompact crossover. However, no sales figures were given for these nameplates.

By midyear 2019, NISSAN had overtaken Hyundai to grab third place and by year-end 2019, Nissan had increased its lead over Hyundai from 3,406 units to 8,931 units by selling 42,694 vehicles compared to Hyundai’s 33,763

FORD: FROM 5TH TO 6TH. The Ranger pickup truck drove Ford Motor PH’s performance in 2019 by selling 14,759 units, up 27% from 2019. The Ranger brought Ford’s overall full-year retail sales to 21,900 vehicles compared to 23,571 in 2018. This decline in sales allowed Suzuki to replace Ford at 5th place in the Top 10 list.

Ford offers the Ranger in 11 variants to suit a customer’s specific needs, budget and lifestyle. The widest one-brand lineup of pickup trucks in the country includes the Ranger Raptor, Ranger Wildtrak, Ranger XLT, and Ranger XLS. In 2019, Ford PH under Managing Director PK Umashankar made its base Ranger manual variant more accessible by bringing its price below the P1.0 million mark.

The 2nd best-selling Ford is the Everest midsize SUV with full-year sales of 4,165 units. In 2019, Ford PH offered the Everest with the new-generation 2.0-liter bi- turbo diesel and 2.0-liter turbo diesel engines mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

The EcoSport mini-SUV with the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine or the new 1.5-liter TiVCT engine and 6-speed automatic transmission was Ford PH’s third best-seller, scoring 2,138 unit sales in 2019.

HONDA: FROM 6TH TO 7TH. Honda Cars PH, Inc. (HCPI) lost the 6th spot to Ford PH in 2019 when it sold 1,562 less vehicles than the American brand.

HCPI sales declined by 12.2% with 20,338 units sold versus 23,294 in in 2018. Like HARI, HCPI is disadvantaged by having no pickup truck in its lineup, although Honda North America sells the multi-awarded Honda Ridgeline V6 pickup truck over there.

The best-selling HCPI models in 2019 were the City subcompact sedan (5,717 units sold), BR-V subcompact crossover (4,003) and the Brio mini subcompact hatchback (2,896).

SUMMING UP. Nissan, Suzuki and Kia are the brands that, together with steady sales leaders Toyota and Mitsubishi, played a starring role in ending 2019 with positive figures compared to the double-digit decline of 2018. Although the industry players’ dream of closing 2020 with 500,000 overall total vehicle sales seems to have ended, at least they succeeded in re-establishing a path to growth by year-end 2019 and can now start expanding it.