Vehicle imports up slightly in H1

MANILA, Philippines — Vehicle importers are turning more optimistic of a sustained recovery this year as cumulative sales continued to post growth in the first half, albeit flat from last year, driven by the light commercial vehicle (LCV) and CV segments.

The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) said in a statement yesterday it sold a total of 43,333 units in the January to June period, up slightly from the 43,084 units sold in the same period a year ago.

The slight uptick in sales was mainly due to the LCV segment as its sales rose four percent to 27,331 units as of end-June from 26,370 units the previous year.

CV sales also increased slightly to 666 units in the first semester from 661 units last year.

Passenger car (PC) sales, meanwhile, were still down four percent to 15,336 units in the first half from 16,053 units a year ago.

For the second quarter alone, AVID’s total sales grew five percent to 21,134 units from the previous year’s 20,145 units.

The group’s LCV sales climbed four percent to 13,383 units in the second quarter from 12,879 units last year.

AVID’s CV sales for the second quarter reached 329 units, two percent higher than the 322 units a year ago.

PC sales also posted a seven percent increase to 7,422 units in the second quarter from the previous year’s 6,944 units.

“Despite headwinds that include an economic slowdown in the first quarter of 2019, AVID posted a third straight month of positive growth to finish the second quarter strong. We believe that this slowdown is temporary since the Philippines is now on a higher growth path and is a leading economy in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Given these, we will continue to introduce exciting models and innovative services to give consumers more value for their money,” AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

AVID ended 2018 with 17 percent lower sales to 88,700 units from 106,285 units in 2017, amid the high inflation rate, as well as the tax hike on vehicles under the government’s tax reform program.