Imported vehicle sales rise 38% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines - Sales of imported vehicles in the first quarter of the year rose 38 percent because of strong sales of passenger cars, according to the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID).

AVID said 8,298 units were sold by its member companies in the first three months of the year, up from 6, 034 units sold in the same period last year.

Sales of passenger cars in the first quarter rose 95 percent to 5,202 units from 2,674 units sold last year. In March alone, 1,621 passenger cars were sold, up 99 percent from 813 units sold in the same month last year.

Total sales of imported vehicles for March shows rose 31 percent to 2,791 units from 2,123 in March 2011.

“Moving along a predominantly optimistic business and economic scenario, AVID members’ sales performance remain on an upswing. We anticipate this trend to continue as we move into the second quarter of 2012,” said AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

AVID said consumer demand is expected to remain strong as consumer expectations continue to improve.

AVID groups Hyundai Asia Resources Inc.; British United, official distributor of MINI cars; CATS Motors distributor of Mercedes Benz; PGA Cars, which sells Porsche and Audi; Scandinavian Motors, official distributor of Volvo; Subaru; The Covenant Car Co. Inc., distributor of Chevrolet GM vehicles.

Citing the Bangko Sentral’s Consumer Expectations Survey, AVID said the availability of jobs, increases in salary, government policies on good governance, sustained investment inflows, and appreciation of the peso contribute to the more positive outlook.