Vehicle sales zoom 21.5% in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - Vehicle sales in the Philippines sustained its speed in the first nine months of the year as it remained on the uptrend amid a slowdown in most automotive markets in Southeast Asia.

Data from the Asean Automotive Federation showed Philippine motor vehicle sales zoomed at the third fastest pace in the region from January to September 2015, growing 21.5 percent year-on-year to 206,284 units.

Vietnam posted the highest sales growth at 60.5 percent during the period, followed by Singapore at 58.7 percent.

Other markets in the region however, registered a drop in sales in the nine-month period, with Brunei and Indonesia suffering the biggest decline at 19.3 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Overall, motor vehicles sold in the seven-member Asean bloc dipped 6.8 percent to 2.22 million units as of end-September this year from 2.38 million the previous year.

Vehicle production in the country, meanwhile, continued to pale in comparison with its regional counterparts in the first nine months of the year.

Locally assembled motor vehicles managed to rise 7.6 percent to 73,764 units in the period but the output remained at the tail end in the region.

Thailand’s motor vehicle production continued to reign in Southeast Asia with 1.43 million units, followed by Indonesia with 843,354 units and Malaysia with 463,388 units.

Total vehicles produced in the region stood at 2.93 million units in the first nine months, 2.4 percent lower from the three million produced in the same period last year.

The Philippine government aims to ramp up vehicle production in the country through the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program which seeks to encourage local car assembly through incentives and allow industry players to become more competitive and tap opportunities in the regional supply chain.