By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID), an all-importers’ group, reported a 5 percent growth in sales in October signalling a better performance in the last quarter of the year. In a report, AVID said they began the fourth quarter of 2019 with 7,320 units sold in October equivalent to a 5 percent gain versus the 7,000 units sold the previous month. Despite a slight dip of 3 percent or 71,396 units sold year-to-date in October compared to the same period last year, AVID is optimistic that the auto industry’s performance will make headway in the last two months of the year. “Lower inflation, interest rates, and fuel prices coupled with increased consumer spending with the start of the holiday season could boost industry performance. Increased government spending on key infrastructure projects and the jeepney modernization program will further bolster demand, especially for light and heavy commercial vehicles,” AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said. Sales in the Passenger Cars (PC) segment grew by 2% month-on-month (MOM) with 2,591 units sold in October versus September 2019. Hyundai maintains its industry leadership in this segment with 1,457 units sold in October alone, followed by Suzuki with 690 units. AVID’s YTD sales for PC dipped by 3% with 25,133 units sold versus the 25,821 units sold during the same period last year. As for Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), AVID recorded a 6% increase in MOM sales with 4,689 units sold for the month of October versus the 4,413 units sold in previous month. However, a slight dip of 4.3% in YTD sales was recorded with 45,536 units sold versus the same period last year. Ford leads this segment with 16,522 units sold, followed by Hyundai with 12,331 units, and Suzuki with 12,267 units sold since the start of the year.