SALES of vehicle importers and distributors surged by 37 percent in September, credited to the strong demand for both passenger cars (PC) and light commercial vehicles (LCV).
The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (Avid), in a statement released on Thursday, said the group’s members collectively sold 3,043 units in September from only 2,227 units sold in the same month last year.
Avid said PC sales increased by 38 percent to 1,703 units against the year-ago figure of 1,230 units.
September’s haul brought total PC sales in the first nine months to 14,050 units. This is a 19-percent increase from the PC sales in the same period last year.
Sales of LCV, meanwhile, grew 35 percent to 1,340 units in September.
Total LCV sales in the January-to-September period reached 12,963 units, reflecting an 18-percent improvement over the 11,020 units sold by importers and
distributors in the same period in 2013.
The combined LCV and PC year-to-date sales reached 27,013 units, higher by 19 percent from last year’s 22,785 units. Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, Avid president, attributed the double-digit growth to the sustained demand for brands of Avid member-organizations.
The Avid members include Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. , the official distributor of Hyundai; the British United Automobiles,Inc. which distributes the iconic MINI Cooper; The Covenant Car Company Inc., distributor of Chevrolet vehicles in the Philippines; CATS Motors Inc., which imports and distributes premium car brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Mercedes-Benz; Motor Image Pilipinas Inc., which distributes the Japanese car brand Subaru; PGA Cars Inc., the sole importer and distributor of Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley vehicles in the country; and Scandinavian Motors Corporation , which distributes Volvo vehicles in the Philippines.