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The AUV: new wheels on the blockby Anissa P. ApolinarioNow that the government has scrapped its plan to lift the exemption of vehicles with a seating capacity of 10 or more from paying excise taxes, local car firms are eager to tap the AUV (Asian Utility Vehicle) market. Leading the pack is Isuzu Philippines Corp., which recently launched its high-end Crosswind XUV. Nissan Motor Philippines is also set to come out with the QRV Serena later this year. Other local AUV manufacturers are Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. (TMPC) and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, which carry such brands as Toyota Tamaraw/Revo and Mitsubishi Adventure. These firms earlier protested the bid to impose a 15% excise tax on all passenger-carrying motor vehicles, which prevented them from selling units at lower and discounted prices. As early as May 2001, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) reported that industry sales fell by 15.9% year-on-year. Yet the AUV, which belongs to the category of commercial vehicles, remained tough in the sudden slump. It sold 43,663 units in the first 10 months of the year 2001, suffering a 6 percent decline from a sale of 46,441 units in the same period of the previous year. That drop was slight compared to the 21.6 percent plunge in passenger car sales. CAMPI's year-ender report revealed that from January to October 2001, only 20,017 passenger cars were sold while in the same period last year, 25,536 were sold. Sales of locally assembled motor vehicles fell by 11.5 percent to 63,680 units in the first 10 months of 2001 compared to 71,977 in the year-ago period due to the global recession and the influx of auctioned secondhand cars via Subic Freeport. AUVs have become the choice of many car owners because these are multi-purpose and are seen to be more suited for rough roads compared to the typical family sedan. Locally, the Tamaraw FX and Revo that helped push TMPC to the top of the sales charts during the first 11 months of this 2001, with 18,035 units. Of that sales figure, TMPC sold 9,856 units of the FX and Revo. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., which manufactures the Adventure AUV, was second to TMPC with 15,688 units, while IPC sold 9,258 units, of which 5,999 units are Hi Lander AUV units. Yet in spite of the market preference for AUVs, luxury carmakers such as BMW Philippines, Commercial Motors Corp. (Mercedes Benz dealers) and Jaguar Philippines made bold introductions last year, showing that better times are still ahead for the local car market. With reports from The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine STAR, and The Manila Times Your comments here please | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Students of Journalism 196-2 2nd Semester, SY 2001-2002 College of Mass Communication University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, 1101 PHILIPPINES e-mail to: bungang_arao@yahoo.com | nbsp; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||