Vehicle import sales grow 8% in March
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2019 16:23:25 +0000
AUTOMOBILE importers and distributors posted higher sales in March on the back of the double-digit increase in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment.
In a statement late on Thursday, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) said it sold 7,952 units last month, an 8-percent increase from 7,380 units in March 2018.
This was the second straight month that AVID ended a month on the positive note this year. In February, sales grew by 12 percent to 7,876 units, reversing January’s 25-percent dip.
LCVs sold rose by 21 percent to 4,988 in the month — accounting for 63 percent of total sales — from 4,130 a year ago, leading AVID to call the segment the “primary growth and volume driver” of revenues.
The number of passenger cars sold dipped by 9 percent to 2,831 in March from 3,123 12 months before.
Sales of commercial vehicles, meanwhile, slid by 2 percent to 123 units from 126 a year earlier.
Despite the positive results, sales of imported vehicles are yet to recover as of end-March.
In the first quarter, AVID saw its sales slip by 3 percent to 22,497 units from 22,083 in the same period last year.
Sales of passenger and commercial vehicles dropped by 13 percent and 1 percent to 7,993 units and 336 units, respectively.
Meanwhile, LCV sales grew by 4 percent to 14,168 units from 13,570 a year ago.
Despite the decreases, AVID remains upbeat, noting that a revenue boost is anticipated in the next few months.
“We expect a further upturn in the next three quarters on the back of improved consumer sentiment, the introduction of exciting and innovative vehicles, and the government’s aggressive infrastructure program,” AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.
AVID is also banking on positive economic developments, such as easing inflation, lower unemployment rates and election spending, to boost favorable sentiment in the industry.
Last year, AVID sales plunged by 17 percent to 88,700 units from the year-earlier 106,285, due to high inflation, rising borrowing costs oil price hikes and tax increases.
The post Vehicle import sales grow 8% in March appeared first on The Manila Times Online.