Avid 6-mo. sales up 6%

After reporting a double digit growth in the first quarter, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (Avid) capped the first half of the year with a 6 percent increase in sales.

From January to June, the group sold 48,348 units, up from 45,470 units in the same period in 2016.

Avid member companies posted a mere 3 percent increase in sales in the second quarter to 25,031 units this year from 24,260 units in the same quarter in 2016. This followed a 10-percent increase reported in the first quarter.

To sustain this positive trend, Avid said its member firms would continue introducing innovations in their products and services to meet the ever-changing customer needs, said Avid President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo in a statement.

Sales in the passenger car segment was the top growth driver in the first semester. Sales jumped by 13 percent to 18,773 units from 16,644 units a year ago.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (Hari), which Perez-Agudo also heads, accounted for the bulk of the total sales posted by this segment. Hari sold 12,039 units of passenger cars in the first semester, or 64 percent of the total.

Sales of light commercial vehicles, on the other hand, inched up by 3 percent to 48,348 units from 45,470 units.

The latest growth figures come as the automobile industry wait for developments in the first package of the comprehensive tax reform program, particularly the provision raising the excise taxes on cars. Industry players expect this to hurt their sales.

There are two versions of the package, one passed in the House of Representatives while another is currently being deliberated in the Senate. Both bills— House Bill 5636 and Senate Bill 1408—seek to raise the tax rates to levels higher than what the industry is comfortable with.

Avid, along with the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc., filed a position paper against the proposal to raise the excise tax earlier this year. In search of a compromise, the car industry proposed rate increases which are relatively lower compared to those in the bills.