Philippines is worst performer in H1 Asean vehicle production

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was the worst performer in the Southeast Asian region in terms of vehicle production as it was the only country which posted a decline in output in the first semester.

Data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation showed the Philippines’ production of motor vehicles dropped by 44.3 percent to 40,982 units in the January to June period from 73,594 units a year ago.

All other five countries in Southeast Asia with vehicle production operations, meanwhile, registered higher output.

Production in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s largest auto manufacturing country, saw a production growth of 11 percent to 1.06 million units in the first half from 950,966 units in the same period last year.

Indonesia registered a 4.5 percent increase in production of motor vehicles to 624,408 units in the first semester from the previous year’s 597,550 units, while Malaysia’s motor vehicle output went up by 10 percent to 280,947 units as of end-June from 255,318 units a year ago.

Vietnam’s motor vehicle production climbed 1.6 percent to 101,459 units in the January to June period from the previous year’s 99,906 units, while Myanmar’s motor vehicle output surged by nearly 195 percent to 4,683 units in the first half from 1,589 units last year.

Total vehicle production in the ASEAN grew by 6.6 percent to reach 2.11 million units in the first semester from 1.98 million units a year ago.

In terms of sales, the Philippines was one of the three countries which registered year-on-year declines in the first semester.

As of end-June, motor vehicle sales in the Philippines declined by nearly 13 percent to 171,590 units from the previous year’s 196,164 units.

The two other countries in the region which saw lower year-on-year sales were Singapore which sold 48,443 motor vehicles in the first half, down 13.3 percent from 55,844 units last year, and Brunei with sales decreasing 6.3 percent to 5,690 units as of end-June from 6,073 units a year ago.

Motor vehicle sales in Thailand grew by more than 19 percent to 489,118 units in the first semester from 409,980 units last year, while Indonesia saw a 3.8 percent increase in sales to reach 553,779 units in the first half from 533,506 units in the previous year.

Other markets which registered higher year-on-year sales for the January to June period were Malaysia with a 1.8 percent growth in sales to reach 289,714 units from the previous year’s 284,453 units, Myanmar with 114 percent increase to reach 6,841 units from last year’s 3,195 units, and Vietnam with sales rising slightly to 125,659 units from 125,490 units from a year ago.

Total motor vehicle sales in the ASEAN went up 4.7 percent to 1.69 million units in the January to June period from 1.61 million units in the previous year.