Despite the challenges AVID faced in the past couple of years, the industry is poised to make a strong comeback as we are poised to step into a new decade.

Automobile sales by the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. (AVID) receded 3.3 percent in 10 months, to 71,396 units from 73,809 units in the same period in 2018.

Still, the car group said it remains optimistic that the auto industry still has room for growth in the last two months of the year, as car sales accelerate 5 percent to 7,320 units in October alone from 7,000 units in September.

“Lower inflation, interest rates, and fuel prices coupled with increased consumer spending with the start of the holiday season could boost industry performance,” AVID president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said in a statement, Friday.

“Increased government spending on key infrastructure projects and the jeepney modernization program will further bolster demand, especially for light and heavy commercial vehicles,” she added.

Month on month, sales of light commercial vehicles rose 6 percent to 4,689 units from 4,413 units in the previous month. Year-to-date, it also registered lower sales at 4.3 percent to 45,536 units.

Ford led the segment at 16,522 sold units, followed by Hyundai with 12,331 units and Suzuki with 12,267 units sold in the first 10 months.

Meanwhile, AVID booked 7 percent lower sales in the commercial vehicles segment in October, but sales surged 87 percent in the first ten months to 727 units from 389 units in the same period in 2018.

Passenger car sales were down 3 percent year-to-date with 25,133 units, but rose 3 percent to 2,591 units month-on-month in October. Hyundai is still the segment’s leader with 1,457 units sold in October alone, followed by Suzuki with 690 units.