Sale of imported vehicles up 18%

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s vehicle importers and distributors posted an 18-percent growth in sales to 5,866 units in the first two months of the year, with both the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments registering strong performances during the period.

Data from the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (Avid) showed that member companies were able to sell a total of 2,990 passenger cars from January to February—up 23 percent from that of a year ago. Also, sales of commercial vehicles rose by 13 percent to 2,876 units.

In February alone, sales of Avid members increased by 14 percent to 2,675 units, driven mainly by the passenger car segment, which posted a 26-percent year-on year rise to 1,311 units.

For light commercial vehicles, the strong performance of the Chevrolet, Subaru and Mini contributed to the segment’s healthy sales of 1,364 units in February—up 5 percent from the 1,295 units sold in the same month last year.

As economic prospects remained rosy, Avid continues to be bullish that the group and the whole Philippine automotive industry will continue to enjoy brisk consumer demand with the automotive firms’ new offerings, model lineup, and flexible financing packages.

“Equipped with healthy demographics, solid macrofundamentals and investor grade rating, the Philippine economy posted an above-target growth of 7.2 percent last year. The Philippine government expects that the prevailing growth trajectory remains stable this year and will likely hit the target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent on the back of vibrant investment environment, accelerated government spending and robust domestic consumption,” Avid explained.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. remained Avid’s top seller in the first two months, with sales hitting 3,953 units. Chevrolet distributor The Covenant Car Co. Inc. was the group’s second strongest performer with sales reaching 1,248 units in the same period.

Other Avid members included Motor Image Pilipinas Inc., Mercedes Benz importer CATS Motors, Porsche and Audi distributor PGA Cars Inc., Mini distributor British United Automobiles, and Volvo importer Scandinavian Motors Corp.