Philippine vehicle production sole decliner in ASEAN

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines continued to fall behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in motor vehicle production, being the only country out of six that registered a decline in output in the first quarter.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Automotive Federation (AAF) data showed 18,137 motor vehicles were assembled in the Philippines in the January to March period, down 7.5 percent from the 19,599 units in the same period last year.

All other ASEAN countries tracked by AAF saw their motor vehicle production accelerate in the first quarter, with Myanmar posting the fastest growth at 73.9 percent followed by Indonesia (41.8 percent), Vietnam (36.4 percent), Thailand (seven percent) and Malaysia (4.8 percent).

A total of 1.10 million motor vehicles were assembled in ASEAN as of end-March, 17.4 percent higher than the 938,283 units in the same period a year ago.

In terms of motor vehicle sales, the Philippines saw an increase like most of its ASEAN peers as it sold 74,754 units in the first quarter, up 6.3 percent from the 70,312 units in the previous year.

Indonesia had the biggest growth in sales as of end-March at 41 percent, followed by Thailand and Vietnam both at 27 percent, Malaysia at 12.7 percent and Myanmar at five percent.

Singapore was the only country in ASEAN where motor vehicle sales decreased in the first quarter, registering a contraction of 43.2 percent.

Motor vehicle sales in the ASEAN rose 23.8 percent to 849,306 units in the first quarter from 686,053 units in the same period a year ago.

For motorcycle and scooter production, the Philippines’ output slid 12.6 percent to 228,028 units in the January to March period from 260,840 units in the same period last year.

Other ASEAN countries covered by the AAF data also had lower motorcycle and scooter production as of end-March such as Malaysia (-14 percent) and Thailand (-5.3 percent).

Motorcycles and scooters assembled in the ASEAN were down 8.8 percent to 857,351 units in the first quarter from 940,361 units in the previous year.

The Philippines’ motorcycle and scooter sales dropped 6.8 percent to 383,355 units in the January to March period from 411,530 units in the same period a year ago.

In Malaysia and Singapore, motorcycle and scooter sales contracted by 15.6 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s motorcycle and scooter sales climbed 2.9 percent in the January to March period.

Total motorcycles and scooters sold in ASEAN as of end-March went down 4.1 percent to 973,219 units from 1.01 million units in the same period last year.