Notes on Vehicle Registration in the Philippines
- Flat Market for 2000-2001
- Growth Years
- Crises Years
- News Highlights in 2001
(Also, read about " The Asian Experience")
Flat Market Start in the 2000s
Based on the latest (March 8-9, 2002) report of BusinessWorld, motor vehicle registration showed not much movement in 2001 due to economic doldrums and which showed in the public utility segment of the market. Figures from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) grew a "measly" 4.4% to 3.866 million units. The table below compares the years 2000 and 2001.
Motor Vehicle Registration
As of December 2000-2001
Source: LTO
Vehicle
Category
New
Renewal
378,285
2,632,689
346,633
2,489,168
9.13
5.77
New
Renewal
4,426
52,26966,468
6,623
59,845
(14.70)
(33.17)
(12.66)
New
Renewal2,698
374
2,324
3,391
287
3,104
(20.44)
30.31
(25.13)
New
Renewal794,306
31,781
762,525
794,499
34,978
759,521
(9.14)
0.40
New
Renewal1,189
124
1,065
1,014
92
922
17.26
34.78
15.51
New
Renewal3,865,862
414,990
3,450,8723,701,173
388,613
3,312,5604.45
6.79
4.18* Approx. 70% are diesel-fueled while 30% are gasoline-fed
According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), July 2001 vehicle sales(measured in number of units) declined by 7.1% from the corresponding 2000 level. Sales have been down since the beginning of 2001, although July's decline was an improvement over the double-digit negative growth rates posted throughout the first six months of the year. For the first time this year, sales of commer-cial vehicles mustered positive growth (i.e., 5.3%), which industry officials attributed to the introduction of various new models of Asian Utility Vehicles (AUVs). The especially hard-hit passenger car segment conti-nued to languish, however, with July 2001 sales slumping 28.3% year-on-year. Cumulative January-July veh-icle sales dropped by 13.6%from the number of units sold during 2000's comparable seven-month period. Seven-month sales of passenger cars slumped by 27.7% year-on-year while automotive firms also sold 5.4% less units of commercial vehicles compared to the January-July 2000 level.
Year 2000 and 2001 AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY SALES - No. of Units Sold for the
Comparative Period: January- July
Source: Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Phil
Category Year 2000 Year 2001 % Growth Total, Jan-July 49,302 42,604 (13.6) Passenger Cars 18,137 13,111 (27.7 Comm'l Vehicles 31,165 29,493 (5.4)
The 8-year period from 1990 to 1997 saw the phenomenal growth of all types of vehicles, as shown below:
Table I. Vehicle Registration in the Philippines from 1990 to 1997
No. of Vehicles Registered 1990 1995 1996 1997 Average
Annual
GrowthPassenger Cars 462685 1339385 1428634 1520147 24.8 % Commerical Vehicles 611776 1193503 1364174 1559257 14.3 % Buses 18332 28466 31085 33944 9.2 % TOTAL 1092993 2561354 2823893 3113342 10.3 % Sources : "Philippine Motoring," April 1998, vol. 1.1, p. 18, and
the Land Transportation Office (LTO) records.The growth of the industry may be gleaned from the number of vehicle registrations recorded by Land Transportation Office (LTO). For instance, in 1997, annual registrations hit beyond the three- million mark, the highest in the decade of the 90s, to wit:
A. 1997 Motor Vehicle Registrations, By Type
Vehicle Type No. of Registrations Per cent to total Buses 31,950 Trucks 242,842 7%
Cars 743,299 MC/Trikes 952,044 Util. veh. 1,223,414 Total 3,193,549 With 15% new registrants & 85% renewals
Est. ave. annual growth range of industry = 5-12% p.a.
B. Vehicle Registration Breakdown By Region - 1997
Region Veh. Registered Remarks NCR 1,253,669 NCR comprises 41% of tot. registrations Region 4 383,178 Southern Tagalog; Ctrl Luzon & S. Tag. comprise 23% Region 3 347,602 Central Luzon Region 7 236,357 Central Visayas Region 6 164,445 Western Visayas Region 11 158,208 Southern Mindanao Region 1 150,007 Ilocos Region 2 102,207 Cag. Valley Region 5 81,009 Bicol Region 10 71,403 Northern Mind. Region 9 68,947 Western Mind. & ARRM Region 8 55,720 Eastern Visayas Region 12 52,953 Central Mind. CAR 38,443 CARAGA 29,401 Total 3,193,549 where 970,589 (about 30%) are diesel fuel-fed. Source : Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) Report, Jan. 27, 1998
While the vehicle industry continued to experience unprecedented positive growth for the last two decades (since 1971) the first signs of a decline actually began to manifest itself during the first quarter of 1997.
Crisis in '98However, in 1998, with the economic slowdown (some would term it "melt-down") in the Asian region affecting virtually all Asian countries, including Japan, Russia, and some Latin American countries like Brazil. Worldwide, vehicle production took a sharp nose-dive. Major car manufacturers such as Hyundai Motors in South Korea and Kia Motors in Japan had to turn to their respective governments for financial bail-outs. Mergers, consolidations, and tie-ups took place on a massive scale among major automotive companies worldwide - Volvo and Mazda with Ford, Isuzu with General Motors, Nissan with Renault, and Mercedes-Benz with Chrysler.
For a time here in the Philippines, car assemblers operated 50% below capacity, with some resorting to 3-days-a-week work shifts. Their dealers are in no better shape, many laying off more than half of their employees. There are five(5) major car assemblers in Metro Manila - Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Columbian Motors (Mazda/Kia/Daihatsu) - and one in Cebu, Transfarm (Daewoo/Hyundai ). Altogether they account for 30-plus franchised dealers in MM and about an equal number in the provinces. Surpringly, the luxury-car market - Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, and Jaguar - had not been as affected. Their sales, in fact, manifested an upward surge for two years in a row now.
Truck sales (reconditioned trucks from Japan account for between 80-90% while the rest are divided between three local truck assemblers) has fared even more badly as Philippine businesses floundered in the sea of economic uncertainty.
Government financial officials are saying the crisis won't be over until at least Year 2000. Many businessmen from the prestigious Makati Business Club (MBC) echo these sentiments. On the brighter side, foregn investments continue to pour in. Dollar remittances of OFWSs (Overseas Filipino Workers - hailed the "new heroes" by the government) to the tune of $20 billion a year, as well as a thriving underground economy, continued to prop up the Philippine economy. The "pro-poor, pro-business" program of the new Estrada government was given a fair chance to succeed.
What transpired in '99
"LTO expects registered vehicles to reach 3 million by year-end," is the by-line of article that appeared in the August 14, 1999 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a leading Philippine newspaper. It further quoted the LTO chief that central office records showed that 'the motor vehicles registered during the first half of 1999 increased by about 7 per cent compared to the same period in 1998,' to a total of 2,957,309 applications for registration ... nationwide as of June 1999. Total vehicle sales for the period January 1998 - June 1999 are shown below: Unfortunately for the vehicle manufacturers, sales for the second half of 1999 was "flat" and the growth for that year was therefore minimal.
NEWSFLASH : CAR SALES PLUNGE 8.7% IN 2001
Manila, Jan. 9, 2002 -
The local automotive industry suffered last year as sales plunged by more than eight percent due to a slump in demand brought about by the economic downturn and the proliferation of second-hand auctioned vehicles.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) reported yesterday that total indust-ry sales tumbled by 8.7 percent to 76,670 units for the whole of 2001 from 83,949 units in 2000. "The poli-tical and economic condition and the effect of auctions of used vehicles was the reason for the lower automo-bile industry sales last year," CAMPI secretary general Mario de Grano said yesterday
. He reiterated the group's complaint that used auctioned vehicles are not safe as they have not undergone the necessary testing and specifications for roadworthiness. "The fact that since most of the auctioned vehicles are commercial vehicles, it had more of an impact on the local automobile industry," he said. He also warned that if the industry continues to perform poorly, more retrenchments can be expected.
Passenger cars recorded the sharpest decline, with sales plunging by 17.8 percent to 23,684 units last year from 28,826 units a year earlier. Sales of commercial vehicles were down by a minimal 3.9 percent to 52,986 units in 2001 from 55,123 units in 2000. The trade group, however, said that in December 2001, sales increased to 1,900 units, from 1,608 units in the same month the previous year. The chamber said the industry also sold 1,900 units in November.
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. maintained its number one rank in terms of overall sales with 19,894 units sold. Toyota settled for the number two slot in terms of passenger car sales. Honda Cars Philippines Inc. led the pack in terms of passenger cars with 7,754 units sold last year, but could manage only fourth place in term of overall sales. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. took the lead in terms of commercial vehicle sales last year, while getting the number two position in overall sales and number four in the passenger car category
. Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi © Copyright, 2001 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reservedINCORPORATING AUTO ASIA 2001… New vehicle sales in Southeast Asia's four biggest markets surged 64 percent from January to July 2000 from that of a year ago, according to an industry survey. The number of new vehicles sold in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines reached 541,722 units in the first seven months, up from 329,765 units last year - based on figures compiled by a global auto component maker.