Phl has lowest car output in Jan-Sept

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines recorded the lowest motor vehicle output in the Southeast Asian region during the first nine months of the year even as its production volume posted double-digit growth from a year ago, according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Automotive Federation (AAF).

In a report, AAF said the country produced a total of 67,610 units of motor vehicles as of end-September this year, up 15.9 percent from the 58,326 units a year ago.

The country’s motor vehicle output is lower compared to other Southeast Asian countries with motor vehicle assembly operations in the region during the same nine-month period such as Vietnam (85,842 units), Malaysia (452,167 units), Indonesia (993,720 units) and Thailand (1.409 million units).

The Asean produced a total of 3.008 million motor vehicles in January to September this year, down by 11 percent from the 3.380 million units last year.

In terms of motor vehicle sales, the Philippines was in the middle of the pack, placing fourth out of seven countries in the region, as it sold 169,727 units as of end-September, 29.2 percent higher than the previous year’s 131,381 units.

The Philippines was ahead of Brunei which had motor vehicle sales of 13,722 units, Singapore which sold 33,533 units and Vietnam with sales of 90,043 units, but behind Indonesia with 932,943 units, Malaysia with 492,305 units and Thailand with 648,410 units.

Total motor vehicle sales in the Asean declined by 10.8 percent to 2.381 million units as of end-September compared to 2.670 million units a year ago.

As for motorcycle and scooter assembly, the Philippines placed third out of four countries with production operations in the region.

The Philippines assembled a total of 547,966 units of motorcycles and scooters in the January to September period this year, a 1.5 percent uptick from last year’s 540,036 units.

The country’s motorcycle and scooter output is above Malaysia’s 333,299 units, but below Indonesia’s 6.065 million units and Thailand’s 1.385 million units.

The Asean produced a total of 8.331 million units of motorcycles and scooters for the January to September period this year, 2.1 percent lower than the 8.510 million units assembled a year ago.

In terms of sales of motorcycles and scooters, the Philippines got the third place out of five countries in the region, having sold 569,036 units as of end-September, a 4.3 percent increase from the 545,544 units in the comparable period in 2013.

The Philippines performed better in terms of motorcycle and scooter sales than Singapore’s 6,388 units and Malaysia’s 339,190 units, but lagged behind Indonesia’s 6.080 million units and Thailand’s 1.325 million units.

The total number of motorcycles and scooters sold in the Asean dipped by 0.6 percent to 8.319 million units as of end-September from 8.372 million units a year ago.

The Philippine government is crafting a road map for the automotive industry which includes providing support for local players to position the country as a manufacturing hub.