Sales of vehicle importers slump 42.6%

Vehicle importers reported a 42.6-percent drop in sales from January to October this year, selling about 40,993 units as against 71,362 units sold in the same period in 2019.

While the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distri­butors Inc. (Avid) did not provide any year-on-year figure for the month of October alone, it noted in a statement that its sales actually grew 9 percent when compared to its sales back in September.

Avid attributed the month-on-month growth to restored consumer confidence that has come about with the gradual reopening of the economy, the easing of travel restrictions and value-added promotions and services.

“We are off to a good start in the last quarter of the year and we aim to continue this revival. Businesses are reopening and travel and tourism are resuming,” Avid president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

“These activities require mobility and a strong and healthy auto industry will set the course for economic recovery,” she added.

“I believe the auto industry was quick to adapt to this new normal. So now you can buy a car online, have it delivered to you without face-to-face contact and do contactless pickups and drop-offs at service locations for your after-sales needs,” she added. INQ