Auto sales drop 10% in April

Philippine automotive sales slid by 10% in April, the biggest annual decline in more than three years, amid a double-digit decline in passenger car sales, an industry report showed.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed new vehicle sales fell by 10% to 33,580 units in April from 37,314 units in the same month a year ago.

April saw the biggest annual decline since the 11.2% drop in January 2022. It was also the first time that sales fell since the 7.3% decline in February 2022.

Month on month, car sales also slumped by 16.7% from 40,306 units sold in March.

“While the overall market trajectory remains positive, the recent slowdown may be attributed to seasonal factors, economic conditions, or evolving consumer demands,” said CAMPI President Rommel R. Gutierrez in a statement on Monday.

“Industry leaders continue to monitor market trends and expect further developments in the months ahead,” he added.

Data from CAMPI-TMA showed passenger car sales plunged by 35.5% in April to 6,498 from 10,069 a year prior. Passenger cars made up 19.35% of the total industry sales in April.

Month on month, sales of passenger cars slid by 23.1% from 8,449 cars sold in March.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said the slump in passenger car sales reflects “ongoing price sensitivity in the mass market.”

“The decline in April car sales was driven by fewer selling days due to holidays, high base effects from last year’s strong performance, and lingering consumer caution amid tight loan conditions,” he said in a Viber message.

On the other hand, commercial vehicle sales, which accounted for 80.65% of the total, dipped by 0.6% to 27,082 in April from 27,245 a year ago.

Month on month, commercial vehicle sales declined by 15% from 31,857 in March.

Broken down, light commercial vehicle sales rose by 3.2% year on year to 20,185, while Asian utility vehicle (AUV) sales declined by 12.1% to 5,992.

Sales of light-duty trucks and buses inched up by 1.6% to 499 in April, while sales of medium-duty trucks and buses dropped 18% to 291.

In April, sales of heavy-duty trucks and buses surged 134.7% to 115 units.

For the first four months of the year, vehicle sales inched up by 2.5% year on year to 150,654 units from 146,920 in the same period in 2024.

Commercial vehicle sales increased by 10.3% to 119,824, while passenger car sales dropped by 19.5% to 30,830 in the January-to-April period.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the Trump administration’s recent tariff policies may have hurt consumer confidence, affecting car sales.

“Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs somewhat weighed on sentiment by consumers, businesses, and other institutions, as higher US import tariffs could slow down global trade, investments, employment, and overall economic growth worldwide,” he said in a Viber message.

“Possible slowdown in sales, incomes, employment, and other economic activities led to a more cautious attitude for some buyers of big-ticket items such as vehicles until the uncertainties settle regarding the Trump risk factor,” he added.

Mr. Ricafort said the ban on some government spending, including purchases of vehicles, ahead of the midterm election may have also affected overall industry sales.

“We expect a gradual recovery in the latter half of the year as demand picks up, inflation stabilizes, and hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) adoption grows. However, the outlook remains tempered by broader economic headwinds and cautious spending behavior,” Mr. Limlingan said.

Year to date, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader with a 47.74% share as sales rose by 6.4% to 71,927 units.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. came in second with a 7% increase in sales to 29,770 units in the January-to-April period. It accounted for 19.76% market share.

In third spot is Nissan Philippines, Inc. which saw a 12.7% drop in sales to 8,182 units in the first four months.

Rounding out the top five were Suzuki Phils., Inc., which saw a 14.5% increase in sales to 7,002 units, and Ford Motor Co. Phils., Inc. which posted a 30.6% drop in sales to 6,728 units.

The CAMPI-TMA report showed that 1,509 EVs were sold in April, bringing four-month sales to 6,820 units. This represented a 5.69% market share.

However, month-on-month EV sales dropped 20.4% from 1,895 units sold in March.

Broken down, hybrid EVs accounted for 5,744 units sold in the first four months. There were 978 battery EVs and 98 plug-in hybrid EVs sold as of end-April.

Toyota Motor sold the most hybrid EVs so far this year with 4,942, followed by Honda Cars Philippines with 442.

Nissan Philippines posted the highest sales of battery EVs with 409, followed by Tesla Motors Philippines with 396 units. – Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter