Imported car sales up 19% in 9 months

Distributors and importers of motor vehicles posted a 19-percent growth in sales to 27,013 units in the nine months to September, with both the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments performing strongly.

 
Data from the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (Avid) showed that member-companies sold 14,050 passenger cars from January to September—up 19 percent year-on-year.

In the same comparative periods, sales of commercial vehicles grew by 18 percent to 12,963 units.

In September alone, vehicle sales of Avid members rose by 37 percent to 3,043 units amid strong demand in both segments.

“The popularity of Avid’s vehicles … has given the group its ninth straight month of positive growth,” Avid president M. Fe Perez-Agudo said in a statement.

This “further signals solid sales performance heading towards the year-end Christmas season,” Agudo added.

The light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment posted a 34-percent growth to 1,340 units in September.

Also, the passenger car segment recorded a 38-percent sales increase to 1,703 units.

According to Avid, strong consumer confidence and bright economic prospects continue to be healthy for the automotive industry for the remainder of this year.

The group noted that investments to the Philippines remained strong, placing the country in a strong position in the international scene.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) continue to be the top seller among Avid members, accounting for 1,490 cars and 527 commercial vehicles in September.

The Covenant Car Co. Inc., distributor of Chevrolet, came second with 65 cars and 500 commercial vehicles.

Other members of Avid are 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.