Things are heating up this Summer as the month of March bore witness to a 27% increase in vehicle sales transacted across the AutoDeal platform. If that wasn’t enough, the recently concluded Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) drew in a record breaking crowd of 128,000 visitors (up 16%), supporting the industry's belief of increased automotive consumerism in 2017. Given this hype and the introduction of several new nameplates to the market, such as the Volkswagen Crafter and Hyundai Creta, it will be interesting to see how brands balance supply and demand over the next coming months, given the consistent increases in customer inquiries.
As indicated in the chart above, the origin of March sales comes off the back of a high level of consumer interest throughout the first quarter of 2017. In particular, AutoDeal saw an increase in same month inquiries and transactions, growing from 18.29% in February to 26.09% in March. The bulk of sales (30.43%) were drawn in from customers who inquired back in February, with 23.91% coming from those who had inquired as early as January. The remaining 19.57% of sales were made up from customers who had sent initial inquiries during the months of October, November, and December 2016.
The mean average closing time taken for AutoDeal leads to convert to sales is 58 days as of March 2017, with the range of sales occurring on a timeline spanning from 1 to 244 days. As data in this area continues to grow, it continues to create further talking points for dealers regarding the importance of regularly evaluating their lead funnel to reduce rates of customer attrition. Reviewing the effort that goes into nurturing interested parties and implementing a few touch base procedures might be all it requires for dealers to improve their conversion rates.
Top Buys
March saw a surprising withdrawal of Toyota vehicles in the top 3 as key brands like Ford, Nissan, and Suzuki drove impressive figures. For Ford, the EcoSport proved to be it’s main staple, becoming the most popular purchase among AutoDeal buyers for the month of March. While the Ford Everest didn’t make the top 3, it did manage to dethrone the Toyota Fortuner as the most popular SUV for the month. For Nissan, great deals on the Navara saw the vehicle hit the overall no. 2 position while simultaneously taking the crown for the most popular pick-up. Suzuki also continue to drive good popularity among AutoDeal buyers in Metro Manila, as well as in Visayas and Mindanao, with the Ertiga taking the no. 3 slot for most translated vehicle.
Vehicle Types
The average price of a vehicle sold on AutoDeal also grew, with the number of transactions for Mid-Size SUV’s and Vans increasing from February. Subcompact cars saw a drop of around 25.73% in popularity as consumer interest in larger vehicles skyrocketed. Other vehicle segments remain somewhat stable with their popularity with little difference being noted between February and March.
Gender
Male sales agents must have read what we wrote about them last month as they upped their game to contribute to 55% of sales made by sales agents at AutoDeal partner dealers; an impressive 13% increase on their performance.
In terms of buyers, males grew by 1% to contribute to 63% of all transactions.
Location
In terms of location, Metro Manila, Central Visayas, and Central Luzon transactions grew by a small margin over other regions. Meanwhile, transactions continued to occur from far North such as the province of Apayao to as far South as General Santos City.
The popularity of different vehicle types also continues to vary on a location-to-location basis, with 68% of Metro Manila’s sales for the year coming from the subcompact category, a further 34% coming from the crossover category and 18% from mid-size SUV’s.
By comparison, regions like Central Luzon had a decreased interest in subcompacts (55%) due to a higher volume of transactions for pick-ups (26%) and vans (17%).
Note: Data represented in this report originates from findings driven by sales data reported and remitted through the AutoDeal For Agents App.
