Sales of imported vehicles rebound
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:38:19 +0000
Sales of imported vehicles recovered in the second month of the year, posting a 12-percent year-on-year growth on the back of higher consumer spending and launch of new models.
A total of 7,876 units were sold in February, higher than year-ago’s 7,107 units, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) said in a report.
This was a reversal from the 25-percent drop in January when sales reached on 6,493 units compared to the 8,696 units sold a year ago.
“We are encouraged by the good sales performance of AVID for the month which signals stronger consumer confidence as well as preference for top-notch products,” AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.
Perez-Agudo expects a “robust recovery” for the automotive industry following the early sales growth.
“We are seeing an upturn in [almost] all major segments which augurs well for AVID in the coming months. Initial indications point to the fact that the Philippine economy is poised for improved performance in 2019. We aim to ride this wave of growth,” Perez-Agudo added.
The light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment, which accounted for the bulk of sales at 62 percent, saw it sales up by 22 percent to 4,905 units in February from 4,028 units a year ago.
For the commercial vehicle (CV) segment, sales increased 19 percent to 128 units in February from last year’s 108 units.
However, the passenger car (PC) segment dropped by one percent to 2,843 units from 2,881 units a year earlier. And despite the boost in February sales, the industry has not yet fully recovered, AVID’s report indicated.
Year-to-date, industry sales fell by 8 percent to 14,499 units from the same period last year.
The PC and LCV segments dipped by 15 percent to 5,140 units and 3 percent to 9,146 units, respectively, since January. The commercial vehicle segment remained unchanged with 213 units for the last two months.
Last year, AVID’s sales plunged 17 percent to 88,700 units from 106,285 a year earlier due to high inflation, rising borrowing costs, oil price hikes and tax increase.
The post Sales of imported vehicles rebound appeared first on The Manila Times Online.