The automotive industry is on track this year to achieve what some thought was an impossible dream: surpass its highest pre-pandemic sales performance.
Looking back at the year that was, let us see how this probability came about.
THE BEGINNING
The year 2023 began with a major shakeup in the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc.’s (CAMPI’s) list of the top 10 sales performers.
Hyundai Motor PH., Inc. (HMPH) which was No. 13 in December 2022, leapfrogged over four brands to replace Kia distributor KP Motors Corp. in 8th place. HMPH, led by Lee Dong Wok from the Hyundai Motor Group in South Korea, was a newcomer, having replaced Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) as the importer and distributor of Hyundai vehicles in June 2022. Yet, with aggressive marketing and the intro of the newest iterations of the Tucson, Santa Fe, Staria (replacing the Starex) and Stargazer, HMPH succeeded in restoring the Korean brand to the Top 10 list.
Also in January 2023, Honda Cars Ph, Inc. (HCPI) overtook No. 6 Isuzu PH Corp. to grab the No. 5 spot from Suzuki PH, Inc. Credited for HCPI’s leap forward were its best-selling nameplates, the City, Brio and BR-V, a new iteration of the latter having been recently launched.
It was the first time that HCPI joined the Magic 5 Circle, which consisted of Toyota Motor PH Corp. (TMP) as the undisputed No. 1 with 13,428 units sold year-to-date, Mitsubishi Motors PH Corp. (MMPC) as No. 2 with 5,030 units sold YTD, Ford Motor Co. PH, Inc. as No. 3 with 2,107 units sold YTD, Nissan PH, Inc. (NPI) as No. 4 with 1,878 units sold YTD.
Suzuki PH, Inc. (SPH) was 6th with 1,476 units sold YTD, Isuzu PH. Corp. (IPC) was 7th with 1,275 units sold YTD, HMPH was 8th with 642 units sold YTD, Sojitz G Auto PH Corp. (SGAP) the distributor of Geely was 9th with 600 units sold YTD, and KP Motor Corp., the distributor of Kia was 10th with 426 units sold YTD.
Thus, according to CAMPI, total new vehicle sales for January 2023 reached 29,299 units, a 42.1 percent increase over the same period in 2022.
Q1 SALES: 30.1% GROWTH YoY
The first quarter joint sales report of CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) highlighted the industry’s 30.1 percent growth year-on-year (YoY) with 97,284 units sold YTD.
On a monthly basis, March 2023’s total new vehicle sales reached 36,880 units, showing a 24.2-percent improvement over the 29,685 units sold in March 2022.
Simultaneously, the Q1 report showed Nissan and Geely scoring big with NPI recapturing the No. 3 perch it had lost to Ford in September 2022, and SGAP (Geely) overtaking HMPH (Hyundai) to grab the No. 8 spot.
NPI sold 6,396 units YTD while Ford sold 5,893. SGAP sold 2,036 units to outperform HMPH’s 1,866.
As expected, TMP led the race with 45,205 units sold YTD, followed by MMPC in second place with 17,765 units sold YTD.
Four brands retained their January 2023 rankings: Honda was still at No. 5 slot with 4,661 units sold YTD, Suzuki still No. 6 with 4,479 units sold YTD, Isuzu remained No. 7 with 4,092 units sold YTD, and Kia still the No. 10 cellar dweller with 1,343 units sold YTD.
1st HALF: 239,501 UNITS SOLD YTD
A grand total of 239,501 units was sold from January to June 2023, showing a 27-percent increase compared to the first half of 2022.
Meanwhile, in July 2023, 37,086 new vehicles were sold versus 27,813 in July 2022, reflecting a 33-percent growth in sales. TMP as of YTD June 2023 had 46.23-percent market share, making it the biggest contributor to the industry’s growth as it celebrates its 35th anniversary. Per the YTD July sales report, Toyota sold 110,158 units from January to July 2023.
Rankings in the Top 10 Sales Performers shifted anew in the first semester. Nissan, which was No. 3 in the first quarter this year, was toppled by Ford with 16,611 units sold YTD July 2023 versus Nissan’s 15,674.
Suzuki regained the No. 5 slot from Honda in the YTD July sales report via 10,174 units sold versus HCPI’s 10,112. A difference of only 62 units, but more than the difference of 53 units scored by HCPI in the YTD June sales report to sneak past SPH.
YTD July 2023, Hyundai Motor PH sold 4,095 units to rise to No. 8, thereby demoting SGAP (Geely) to No. 9 with its 4,673 units sold.
Mitsubishi retained the No. 2 perch with 43,831 units sold YTD July 2023, Isuzu remained as No. 7 with 9,774 units sold, and Kia stayed as No. 10 with 2,871 units sold.
Commenting on the first semester sales results, CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez expressed optimism that the strong growth trend would be maintained for the year.
Q3: REVISING SALES FORECAST UPWARD
As early as last August, CAMPI revised its 2023 sales forecast to 423,000 units, which is higher than the 369,941 units sold in 2019. In that year before the coronavirus pandemic struck, it was the industry’s best sales performance.
In fact, the industry scored its highest monthly sales the following month, in September, by selling 38,625 vehicles compared to 25,282 in September 2022.
In a press statement last September, CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said: “The auto market remained resilient since 2021 and the current trend indicates that we will breach the highest pre-pandemic sales performance and achieve full industry recovery in 2023.”
CAMPI has reason to be bullish. As of year-to-date October 2023, total new vehicle sales had reached 352,971 units, which is 25.9- percent higher than the 280,300 units sold during the same period in 2022.
OCTOBER 2023 TOP 10
The Magic 5 Circle in the Top 10 Sales Performers as of YTD October 2023 consisted of Toyota Motor PH Corp. (TMP) with 46-percent market share due to 162,229 units sold ; Mitsubishi Motors PH Corp. (MMPC) with 18.5 percent market share based on 65,192 units sold; Ford Motor Co. PH, Inc. with 7.4 percent market share due to 26,003 units sold; Nissan PH, Inc. with 6.3 percent market share due to 22,268 units sold; and Suzuki PH, Inc. with 4.3 percent market share based on 15,062 units sold.
Isuzu PH Corp. was No. 6 with 14,457 units sold; Honda Cars PH, Inc. was No. 7 with 13,943 units sold; Hyundai Motor PH, Inc. was No. 8 with 7,366 units sold; Sojitz G Auto PH Corp. (Geely) was No. 9 with 6,140 units sold; KP Motors Corp. (Kia) was No. 10 with 4,342 units sold.
NOVEMBER 2023 YTD SALES
A preliminary Joint CAMPI-TMA Sales Report for November 2023 indicates that YTD total industry sales rose to 390,654 units, a 23.9 percent improvement over the 2022 YTD November sales totaling 315,337 units.
Compared to the sales made in November 2022 of 35,037 units, the November 2023 sales of 37,683 units reflected a 7.6-percent growth.
On the other hand, November sales of 37,683 units were 1.2 percent lower than the October sales of 38,128 units.
Were the Top 10 rankings reshuffled anew last month? Wait for CAMPI’s full November 2023 sales report to find out.
Meanwhile, let us look forward to January 2024, when the achievement of 423,000 units sold in 2023 will be announced, surpassing the highest pre-pandemic sales level and signaling the auto industry’s full recovery.
