It’s not really that much of a stupendous news. CAMPI just likes to give a clickbait headline for us automotive journalists. See, they were coming from a really deep cellar in April so when the figures came out for May, which is still a very low figure compared to historical performance, they kinda liked to try and enjoy the moment.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) shows total vehicle sales spiked by 3,500% to 4,788 units in May from 133 units sold a month ago.

CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez said the industry has anticipated this increase coming from the lowest sales performance recorded in April followed by the easing of community quarantine and lockdown restrictions placed over Luzon in May.

“While May figures are still way below the industry’s monthly average sales performance, we welcome any positive signs of recovery amid the pandemic and this season of new normal where dealerships have resumed operations at a reduced level and stringent safety protocols are being implemented at all times”, Atty. Gutierrez noted.

He added “at this point, the industry anticipates a dampened consumer demand for new cars for the coming months because understandably cars are considered as big-ticket investments. But we hope to see some gradual recovery perhaps by fourth quarter of the year.”

On a month-on-month, the industry sales fell by 84.6% from 30,998 units sold during the same period last year. Year-to-date, the industry has sold 69,463 units, a 51.1% decline compared with that of in 2019.