Q1 sales of imported vehicles up 10%

The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (Avid) said its member companies sold 10 percent more cars in the first quarter of the year compared to year-ago level, attributing the increase to a sustained “strong consumer appetite for vehicles.”

From January to March, Avid sold 23,312 units, up from 21,160 cars last year. Out of the 10 member companies of Avid, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) sold 8,841 units—accounting for the largest sales volume for an individual importer.

“Riding on sustained demand in the automotive market, Avid’s sales growth story continues its upward trend as it picked up by 10 percent for the three-month period in 2017. This encouraging response further drives Avid to deliver top-notch products and services to our customers,” Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, president of Avid said in a statement. She is also president and CEO of Hari.

The passenger car segment sold 9,242 units in the first three months of the year, up by 21 percent from 7,609 units sold a year earlier. This is led by Hyundai which sold 5,986 units.

On the other hand, the light commercial vehicle segment sold 14,070 units in the first quarter, a 4-percent increase from 13,551 units sold previously. Ford took the lead in this sales segment, accounting for more than half of the volume share or 7,586 units sold.

Meanwhile, Hari, the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, sold 3,371 units last month alone, which is the company’s highest monthly output in its 15-year history. For the first quarter, Hari’s sales went up 18 percent to 8,841 from 7,469 units sold in the same period of last year.

In a statement, Hari said strong economic growth and steady inflation, coupled with the increasing purchasing power of the middle class, would bid well for the company leading to “its full potential in sales and achieving another record-breaking year.”