Vehicle imports drop slightly in 7 months

MANILA, Philippines — Vehicle importers registered a slight dip in sales in the seven months to July this year as the passenger car (PC) segment remains weak.

Data from the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) showed the group sold 50,164 units as of end-July, down slightly from the 50,505 units sold in the same period a year ago.

The PC segment in particular, declined five percent to 17,706 units for the seven-month period from the previous year’s 18,592 units.

AVID said Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) was the biggest driver of sales in the PC segment during the period.

Meanwhile, the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment grew modestly to 31,878 units for the January to July period from 31,671 units last year.

Driving sales in the LCV segment are Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. and HARI.

On the other hand, AVID’s commercial vehicle sales surged 140 percent to 580 units as of end-July from 242 units a year ago.

For the month of July alone, AVID sales were down 11 percent year-on-year to 6,987 units due to higher interest rates and stiff competition.

Despite lower sales for the seven-month period, AVID said it remains hopeful of a sales recovery by the end of the year.

AVID’s full-year sales in 2018 reached 88,700 units, down 17 percent from 106,285 units in 2017, as demand for vehicles was affected by the high inflation rate and tax hike imposed under the  government’s tax reform program.

AVID’s outlook is anchored on expectations of favorable market conditions.

“The downtrend in inflation and continuous surge of OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances are two factors that will improve consumer confidence, especially high-ticket acquisitions such as vehicles, in the coming months. The completion of infrastructure projects, specifically road and connector links, will hopefully ease traffic and remove one of the hurdles to vehicle ownership in Metro Manila and nearby provinces,” AVID president Fe Perez-Agudo said.

In preparation for the future of transport, AVID is working with both the private and public sectors to push for sustainable mobility and responsible technology.

“We are at the cusp of a new age in automotive as evidenced by the resources being poured by carmakers all over the globe into their electric technologies. In the Philippines, government and infrastructure support are still being set up but the EV (electric vehicle) landscape is bound to get even bigger,” Agudo said.