Car importers sold 14% more in 2021

MANILA, Philippines — Sales of the country’s vehicle importers picked up speed in 2021, increasing 14 percent from a year ago amid the reopening of the economy.

In a statement yesterday, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) said it ended 2021 on a positive note despite the pandemic, as its sales rose to 58,916 units last year from 51,851 units in 2020.

The light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment, which accounted for a large part of the total sales, climbed 23 percent to 42,871 units last year.

Passenger car (PC) sales, meanwhile, declined nine percent to 15,092 units from 16,650 units in 2020.

The commercial vehicle (CV) segment posted the highest growth at 212 percent with sales reaching 953 units compared to just 305 in 2020.

For December alone, AVID’s total vehicle sales dipped eight percent to 5,259 units from 5,694 units.

LCV sales went up slightly to 4,110 units from 4,080 units in the same period the previous year.

PC sales, on the other hand, slid 28 percent to 1,140 units in December from 1,592 units in the same month in 2020.

CV sales declined by 59 percent to nine units from 22 units.

Compared to AVID’s total vehicle sales of 4,903 units in November, the sales performance in December went up seven percent.

“You cannot downplay the importance of mobility in the reopening of the economy, though gradual it may be,” AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

“With unwavering confidence in the market and in the quality of our product and service offerings, AVID members are determined to build on these gains and look forward to an even better normal in 2022,” she said.