Importers revved up car sales in June

Vehicle importers and distributors continued their winning streak in June as sales surged by 21 percent to 2,973 units, driven largely by the double-digit growths posted by both the passenger car and light commercial vehicle segments.

This brought the cumulative sales of the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) to 17,902 units in the first six months of the year, up 17 percent from the 15,345 units sold in the same period in 2013.

According to AVID, the passenger car segment saw its sales grow by 22 percent year-on-year in June to 1,515 units, boosted by sustained sales from Mini, CATS Motors and Hyundai. This led to a 16-percent sales growth in the first semester to a total of 9,061 units.

The light commercial vehicle segment, meanwhile, chalked up a 22-percent increase in sales to 1,458 units in June, reinforced by the “stellar performance” of Chevrolet. First half sales of this segment grew 18 percent to 8,841 units.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) remained AVID’s top seller in the first half of the year, with sales hitting 11,651 units. Chevrolet distributor The Covenant Car Co. Inc. was the group’s second strongest performer with sales reaching 4,066 units during the same period.

Other Avid members include Motor Image Pilipinas Inc. (which sold 1,523 units in the first half); Mercedes Benz importer CATS Motors (374 units); Porsche and Audi distributor PGA Cars Inc. (141 units); Mini distributor British United Automobiles (87 units); and Volvo importer Scandinavian Motors Corp. (60 units).

“Following its winning streak in the first half of the year, AVID expects to keep its sales track upbeat toward the end of the year,” said AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

This optimism was anchored on expectations that the economy will adapt to possible monetary tightening and that consumer spending will remain robust, the group noted. Amy R. Remo