Vehicle importers on Monday announced a 14-percent growth in sales for 2012 compared to 2011, attributing strong sales last year to consumer confidence.

Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (Avid) President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said that members of the organization capped in 2012 with 14-percent increase in total sales, selling some 28,400 units last year versus the 24,880 units sold in 2011.

She said that the rise in sales were from the 18-percent spike in the passenger cars segment, with 16,284 units sold in 2012 compared to the 13,806 units sold in 2011.

Also, the 9-percent increase in sales from the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment backed the positive numbers for Avid members.

For December alone, a total of 2,128 units were sold by members of Avid, or 14-percent higher compared to the 1,868 units sold in the same month of 2011.

The top three brands for Avid in terms of sales increase were the British United Automobiles Inc. (Mini) with 23-percent growth; the Covenant Car Co. Inc. (Chevrolet) with 20-percent increase; and Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. with 8 percent.

“Consumer confidence is heightened on the back of the remarkable expansion in the industry and service sectors, build-up of overseas Filipino remittances, and holiday and election spending,” Agudo said.

“All these point to winning sales outlook in 2013 as each Avid member unveils more aggressive sales and marketing plans for the year,” she added.

Furthermore, the vehicle importers said in a statement that despite sustained global uncertainty in 2012, “the Philippines has maintained a relatively stable macroeconomic environment with GDP [gross domestic product] forecast to settle at 6 percent, well within the growth target of 5 percent to 6 percent.”

“Expectations of increased credit rating upgrade in 2013 should further boost sales outlook for the Philippine automotive industry this year,” the Avid statement added.