Car importers buck downtrend

MANILA, Philippines - Car importers bucked the downward trend in the local auto industry as they posted four percent growth in sales in May when compared to the same period a year ago.

Data from the Alliance of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) showed that they sold a total of 1,952 units in May or a four percent growth from a year ago.

AVID has six member firms which are all pure importers of vehicles. They are British United, Cats Motors, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), PGA Cars, Scandinavian Motor and TCCI.

Compared to the nine percent drop in overall industry sales, the growth was driven by an 11 percent growth in the light commercial vehicle segment due to sustained buying interest for new nameplates and fuel efficient models across AVID brands. This brings sales in the first five months of the year to 9,658 units or a four percent growth over the same period last year, outpacing industry’s two percent rise. In terms of market share, AVID accounts for 15 percent of the total market for May.

“The four percent growth in AVID’s sales in May against total industry’s decline of nine percent demonstrate the strategic advantages of our global supply platforms and brand management strategies to mitigate the risks of external crisis, like Japan’s disaster, and consumer vulnerability to economic uncertainties. We remain positive about the economic outlook for the year ahead and the resiliency of the domestic market to support our sales goals,” AVID president Maria Fe Perez-Agudo said.

Against emerging market risks of accelerating inflation, rising interest rate and weakening consumer sentiment, AVID continued to grow steadily due to its robust global supply chains which deflected production setbacks caused by Japan’s disaster, buyer confidence for new models launched during the first quarter of 2011, and creatively fresh advertising of AVID member companies.

The group noted that while GDP slowed to 4.9 percent in the first quarter of this year and consumer sentiment dipped slightly in the second quarter based on the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Consumer Expectations Survey, macroeconomic fundamentals remain solid to support positive sales outlook for the remainder of the year. AVID’s brands will continue to be competitive and resilient with effective and responsive brand management and customer relationship strategies.ddd