Philippines vehicle production falls most in Asean

MANILA, Philippines — Motor vehicle production in the Philippines continued to fall behind the rest of Southeast Asia as it posted the biggest decline in output at 29.5 percent in the five months to May this year.

Data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation showed the Philippines churned out 25,892 motor vehicles as of end-May, lower than the 36,745 units it produced in the same period last year.

Other Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia also registered lower motor vehicle output, although at a smaller rate.

In particular, Vietnam’s motor vehicle output declined 13.9 percent to 72,064 units as of end-May from 83,709 units a year ago, while Indonesia’s production decreased 7.3 percent to 522,938 units from the previous year’s 563,987 units.

All the other Southeast Asian countries, meanwhile, registered higher motor vehicle production as of end-May such as Myanmar with a 67.8 percent increase to 6,128 units from last year’s 3,652 units, Thailand with a 2.9 percent growth to 893,067 units from 867,599 units a year ago, and Malaysia with a 2.6 percent uptick to 247,951 units from the previous year’s 241,582 units.

Motor vehicles produced in ASEAN slid 1.6 percent to 1.768 million units in the five-month period from 1.797 million units last year.

In terms of motor vehicle sales, the Philippines still lagged behind most of its peers in Southeast Asia as its sales declined slightly to 142,185 units in the January to May period from 142,240 units a year ago.

Except for Indonesia which posted a sales decline 14.7 percent to 422,038 units from 494,809 units of the previous year, all the other Southeast Asian countries recorded higher motor vehicle sales.

Myanmar saw the biggest increase in sales at 36.6 percent to 7,181 units as of end-May from 5,258 units last year, followed by Vietnam with 21.9 percent growth to 126,727 units as of end-May from 103,992 units a year ago.

Singapore’s motor vehicle sales rose 13.5 percent to 41,593 units as of end-May from the previous year’s 36,631 units, while Malaysia’s sales went up 12.7 percent to 253,808 units from last year’s 225,134 units.

Thailand’s sales grew 9.1 percent to 437,722 units from 401,264 units a year ago, while Brunei’s climbed 5.4 percent to 4,966 units from the previous year’s 4,712 units.

Total motor vehicles sales in ASEAN went up 1.6 percent to 1.436 million units as of end-May from 1.414 million units last year.

Earlier, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. president Rommel Gutierrez said the group is optimistic of sales growth in the local automotive industry this year after last year’s lackluster performance due to higher tax on automobiles which weakened demand for cars.

“The automotive brands’ collective efforts, highlighted by fleet sales, good financing deals, and model updates and upgrades, show that we have learned to adjust and adapt to market conditions thus helping consumers acquire new vehicles with fewer hurdles,” he said.