MANILA – Not only locally assembled vehicles recovered from business disruption due to community quarantine measures but also sales of imported vehicles improved in June compared to the previous month.
The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) reported Tuesday its monthly sales in June 2020 jumped by 198 percent to 3,697 units from 1,239 units in May this year.
By segment, passenger cars sold 1,199 units in June, increasing by 239 percent from May’s sales of 354 units; light commercial vehicle sales jumped by 181 percent to 2,462 units last month from 876 units in May; and commercial vehicle sales surged by 300 percent to 36 units in June from nine units in its previous month.
AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said the group remains cautious despite demand for imported vehicles significantly improving coming from the lockdown measure that started in mid-March.
The government started the reopening of businesses in May.
“While AVID members and their partner dealerships have gone to great lengths to Covid-proof their facilities, strengthen online e-commerce assets, and offer extraordinary promotions and deals to win back customers and encourage buying; headwinds remain. These include lower remittances, weaker demand, and the prospect of a second wave so we can’t let our guard down,” Perez-Agudo said.
Meanwhile, AVID sales in the first six months of the year fell by 54.8 percent to 19,455 units from 43,082 units in the same period in 2019.
Passenger car sales plummeted by 60 percent to 6,111 units in January to June 2020 from 15,279 units sold in the first half of 2019.
Light commercial vehicle sales in the first half of 2020 also dropped by 51.6 percent to 13,207 units from 27,300 units sold during the same period last year.
Commercial vehicles for the first two quarters of the year plunged by 73 percent to 137 units from its six-month sales last year at 503 units.
“This is not the industry’s first crisis but it is surely the most challenging. We can’t face it alone, so we are closely working with (the) government and other stakeholders to help contain this pandemic while gradually reviving the industry in a safe and sustainable manner. Mobility is key to driving the economy forward and a stronger AVID, within and beyond this pandemic, will definitely play a key role,” Agudo added. (PNA)
