Imported vehicle sales up 20%

Vehicle importers and distributors chalked up a 20-percent rise in sales to 3,101 units in October, driven by the strong performance of both the passenger car (PC) and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments during the period.

As a result, vehicle sales for the first 10 months of the year reached 30,114 units—19 percent higher than the 25,374 units sold in the same period a year ago, according to the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (Avid).

“Sustained by its attractive monthly offerings, Avid maintained its strong sales pace, [encouraging] the group to deliver products that go beyond the bounds of satisfaction,” said Avid president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

Data from Avid showed that the PC segment expanded by 29 percent to 1,655 units in October, led by Hyundai, Subaru and Chevrolet. This brought sales for the first 10 months of 2014 to 15,705 units—up 20 percent from the 13,044 units sold from January to October 2013.

Sales in the LCV category, meanwhile, grew by 10 percent to 1,446 units in October, driven by the performance of Chevrolet. Year-to-date sales tally for LCVs reached 14,409 units—up 17 percent from a year ago.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) remained Avid’s top seller in the first 10 months of the year, with sales hitting 19,675 units. Chevrolet distributor The Covenant Car Co. Inc. was the group’s second strongest performer with sales reaching 6,774 units during the same period.

Other Avid members included Motor Image Pilipinas Inc. (which sold 2,516 units from January to October); Mercedes Benz importer CATS Motors (649 units); Porsche and Audi distributor PGA Cars Inc. (268 units); Mini distributor British United Automobiles (135 units); and Volvo importer Scandinavian Motors Corp. (97 units).

Avid remained confident that the Philippine automotive industry would achieve a double-digit growth for the year on the back of competitive promotions of auto players, as well as price stability and the prevailing optimism on the economy.

This bullish outlook was anchored on the fact that the “economy’s key indicators remain supportive of industry growth as inflation rate slowed down … still within the government’s target of 3-5 percent.”