Sales of imported vehicles dropped 18% in August

Vehicle importers saw their August sales drop 18 percent year-on-year, mainly due to movement restrictions that were again imposed to control the surge in cases of COVID-19.

The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (Avid) said it sold 3,919 units during the month, an 18-percent decline from 4,753 units sold in August 2020. But year-to-date sales were still up 33 percent to 39,011 units.

“The entire industry hit a pothole in August due to the necessary health restrictions. Despite this, we at Avid choose to be optimistic as we approach the final stretch of the year,” said Avid president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

The bulk of the sales were in the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) segment that includes vans and pick-ups, accounting for 72 percent of total industry sales, Avid said. LCV sales saw a 44-percent surge from 19,412 units sold in the first eight months of 2020 to 27,956 units this year. Ford Group Philippines, Inc. led this segment.

The Passenger Cars, meanwhile, saw only a 4-percent growth from January to August, selling 10,164 units so far. Avid said this segment was the most affected by the lockdown, translating to a year-on-year drop of 43 percent and month-on-month decline of 18 percent. Suzuki Philippines led this segment.

Commercial vehicles, which were only sold by two companies, sold a total of 891 units during the 8-month period, a 362-percent growth from last year. Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. accounted for most of the sales here with 888 units.

The direction of Avid’s figures was similar to that of the data reported by truck and carmakers, which saw their August sales decline by nearly 12 percent as opposed to the same month a year ago, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

Campi and TMA sales from January to August still managed to grow 37.8 percent to 170,112 units. Together, Campi and TMA account for the bulk of the domestic auto industry.