MANILA – Sales of imported vehicles for the first quarter of the year increased by 7 percent to 15,857 units from 14,554 units sold in the same period in 2020, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) reported Tuesday.
AVID said all vehicle segments except for passenger cars recorded a positive sales growth in the January to March 2021 period.
Light commercial vehicle sales for the first three months of the year rose by 13 percent to 11,198 units from 9,895 units sold in the same period last year.
Commercial vehicle sales surged by 354 percent in the first quarter of 2021 to 418 units from 92 units in 2020.
On the other hand, sales of passenger cars declined by 7 percent to 4,241 units sold between January and March this year from 4,567 units sold in the same period of the previous year.
On a year-on-year basis, sales of AVID members have recovered in March 2021 from March 2020 -- the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Sales last month jumped by 95 percent to 5,193 units from March 2020’s 2,663 units.
Compared to February 2021, sales last month declined by 4 percent from 5,401 units.
“The slow uptick of passenger cars is a result of continued low consumer confidence,” AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said in a statement.
Month-on-month passenger car sales decreased by 10 percent to 1,372 units in March from 1,518 units in February.
Light commercial vehicle sales also slipped by 1 percent to 3,676 last month from February 3,728 unit sales.
Commercial vehicle sales declined by 6 percent to 145 units in March from 155 units sold in February.
“But let us not discount the commendable performances of light commercial vehicles and commercial vehicles, and the hardworking teams that drive them.
We see these two segments as our industry’s lifesavers as they lend indispensable support to the country’s revitalized infrastructure development programs,” Perez-Agudo added. (PNA)
