The sales of imported car dealers registered a slight dip in July after selling fewer passenger cars (PC), data from Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) showed.
In a news statement issued on Friday, the industry group reported that car sales declined by 5 percent to 4,862 units in July from 5,101 units year-on-year.
“Despite this, AVID’s performance reflects the industry’s overall improvement amidst the pandemic,” it said.
The PC segment slid by 27 percent to 1,293 units from 1,765 units the previous year.
Sales of commercial vehicles grew by over four times to 93 units for the month from just 19 units in the same period last year.
Light CV sales inched up by 5 percent to 3,476 units in July from 3,317 units last year.
In the first seven months, however, AVID booked 43-percent sales growth with 35,092 units sold, higher than previous year’s 24,610 units.
PC sales as of end-July increased by 15 percent to 9,110 units from 7,893 units year-on-year. Suzuki Philippines Inc. has the lion’s share with 4,559 units sold, followed by Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. with 2,979 units.
The LCV segment saw its sales jump by 52 percent to 25,127 units for the seven-month period from 16,561 units the previous year. Ford Group Philippines is the frontrunner in this segment with sales of 10,343 units. This is followed by Suzuki and Hyundai with 7,076 units and 3,177 units, respectively.
Sales for CV skyrocketed to 855 units for the period from last year’s 156 units, most of which are accounted for by Hyundai.
“The gradual adaptation of the automotive industry to ‘now normal’ operations is mainly driven by the valuable lessons gathered and learned over the course of the period. These lessons fuel our passion for developing new and innovative ways to addressing the needs of the market,” AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.