MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was the second-fastest growing motor vehicle market in Southeast Asia during the first seven months of the year, a regional industry group said.
Based on data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Automotive Federation, the Philippines trailed only Indonesia, both in terms of output and sales, accelerating by over 40 percent from a year ago when pandemic-induced lockdowns dampened demand for cars.
Motor vehicles assembled in the Philippines rose 48.4 percent to 50,046 units in the seven months to July, from 33,715 units in the same period last year.
Indonesia had the highest growth in motor vehicle production in ASEAN with a 49.4 percent increase as of end-July.
Except for Myanmar, whose production declined 86 percent, other ASEAN neighbors posted double-digit growth in motor vehicle output led by Vietnam (47.9 percent), Thailand (39.2 percent), and Malaysia (14.2 percent).
Total vehicles produced in ASEAN went up 38.3 percent to 1.96 million units in the January to July period from 1.42 million units a year ago.
Philippine motor vehicles sales, meanwhile, climbed 46 percent to 154,265 units as of end-July from 105,583 units the previous year.
Indonesia again led in this category with a 60.8 percent growth in vehicle sales for the seven-month period.
Other ASEAN countries which had higher motor vehicle sales in the January to July period are Singapore (40.7 percent), Vietnam (26.9 percent), Malaysia (10.2 percent) and Thailand (9.7 percent), while Myanmar registered a 43.4 percent dip in sales.
ASEAN’s total motor vehicle sales increased 27.5 percent to 1.51 million units as of end-July from 1.18 million units in the same period last year.
For the motorcycle segment, however, the Philippines had the highest growth in assembly and sales during the seven-month period in ASEAN.
Motorcycles assembled in the Philippines surged 90.6 percent to 515,956 units from the previous year’s 270,747 units.
Thailand placed second as its motorcycle output went up 35.9 percent, followed by Malaysia with a 17.8 percent uptick.
Total motorcycle output of the ASEAN grew 44 percent to 1.87 million units as of end-July from 1.30 million units in the same period last year.
Motorcycle sales in the Philippines expanded 45.8 percent to 822,756 units in the seven-month period from 564,311 units.
Singapore took the second spot with its motorcycle sales climbing 17.9 percent, while Malaysia was in third place with a 14.4 percent growth, and Thailand came in fourth with a 13.7 increase.
A total of 2.09 million motorcycles were sold in the ASEAN in the January to July period, 24.6 percent higher than the 1.67 million units a year ago.