New vehicle sales in the Philippines continued to plunge in May 2020, by almost 85% to 4,788 units from 30,998 in the same month of last year, according to member wholesale data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
Both passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle sales fell by 85% to 1,389 units and 3,399 units respectively in May.
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This followed an almost total market wipe out in April when sales plunged by over 99% to 133 units from 25,799 units a year earlier after the government shut down large parts of the economy on 18 March to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The Philippines is one of the countries in south-east Asia hit worst by the virus, with some 26,000 infections recorded to date.
In mid May, the government began to ease restrictions in regions least affected by the pandemic while allowing companies nationwide to operate at reduced capacity to allow the economy to recover.
Lockdown rules were relaxed in most regions by the end of May but a strict lockdown was reimposed in central Manila this week following a new outbreak.
The Philippine economy shrank unexpectedly by 0.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020 after growing by 6.7% in Q4 2019.
UK based consulting firm Oxford Economics this week said it expected full year GDP to shrink by 5% with the second quarter expected to be the low point in the cycle due to the lockdowns.
Total vehicle sales in the first five months of 2020 fell 51% to 69,463 units from 142,185 in the same period last year, according to the associations' data.
Passenger vehicle sales were down 55% to 19,201 units while commercial vehicle sales fell 49% to 50,262 units.
May 2020 report: Philippine sales to fall 20-40% in 2020 as lockdown is eased
