Philippines' imported vehicle sales up 13 pct in 2014

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Imported vehicle sales in the Philippines increased by 13 percent last year, said vehicle importers and distributors today.

A total of 35,565 imported units were sold in the country in 2014, resulting in a rather huge increase compared to the 2013 figure, which stood at 31,399 units, said the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID).

"AVID is confident the industry will continue its bullish stance for 2015 with another significant growth on the back of strong macro fundamentals and brisk vehicle demand," said association president and CEO Maria Fe Perez-Agudo.

The group singled out the passenger car segment as the main growth driver as it saw 14 percent growth to 18,467 units in 2014.

The light commercial vehicle segment, on the other hand, sold a total of 17,098 units, up by 12 percent from 2013's sales of 15, 256 units.

AVID cited the exemplary performance of Chevrolet Philippines that grew double-digit to 6,952 units, up 79 percent from 3,877 units in 2013.

However, December sales went down 23 percent year-on-year to 2, 687 units from 3,491 units in 2013.

Both passenger car and light commercial vehicle segments performed dismally as sales from both categories dipped by 23 percent to 1,386 and 1,301 units and 1,795 and 1,696 units, respectively.

The association is positive that despite an expected lower GDP growth in 2014, the industry still has the capability to grow significantly in 2015 because of strong business and consumer sentiments.

The services sector will be the main growth driver and household spending will motivate automotive sales to grow during the year, it said.