Philippines vehicle production up by 35%

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines continued to lead with the fastest growth rate in motor vehicle production in the ASEAN region as it posted a 34.9 percent jump in the first eight months of the year.

Based on data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Automotive Federation (AAF), 74,107 motor vehicles were assembled in the Philippines from January to August, significantly higher than the 54,918 units recor?ded in the same period last year.

In August alone, the country posted a 21 percent increase in motor vehicle production, rising to 8,173 units from 6,752 in August last year.

Following the Philippines, Malaysia posted the second highest growth rate in the seven months of the year at 13.2 percent.

This was followed by Thailand and Indonesia with 3.1 and 3.0 percent growth rate, respectively.

On the other hand, Myanmar posted the largest decline at 80.5 percent. Similarly, Vietnam posted a 29.8 percent contraction during the period.

A total of 2.849 million motor vehicles were assembled in the region from January to August, up 3.4 percent from 2.756 million units in the same period last year.

The Philippines also posted the highest growth rate in motor vehicle sales at 29.8 percent, selling a total of 276,215 units, higher than the 212,872 units sold in the same period a year ago.

This was followed by Malaysia and Indonesia with 11.6 percent and 2.6 percent growth, respectively.

In contrast, Myanmar posted the largest decline in motor vehicle sales at 68.3 percent.

Three other ASEAN countries also posted declines in motor vehicle sales during the period: Vietnam (29.8 percent), Singapore (16.9 percent) and Thailand (6.2 percent).

Motor vehicle sales in ASEAN increased by 0.5 percent to 2.188 million units in the first eight months from 2.178 million in the same period last year.

Data from the AAF also showed that the Philippines’ motorcycle and scooter production jumped by 39 percent to 849,394 units, the highest growth among ASEAN countries tracked by AAF.

This was followed by Indonesia and Thailand with growth of 17.3 and 15 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, Malaysia posted a 7.6 percent decline in motorcycle and scooter production as well as Vietnam with a 32.4 percent decline.

Motorcycles and scooters assembled within the ASEAN jumped by 4.7 percent to 8.276 million units from 7.901 units in the previous year.

The Philippines also registered a 1.5 percent increase in motorcycle and scooter sales in the eight months of the year, to 1.04 million units from 1.03 million.

Indonesia posted the highest increase in motorcycle and scooter sales at 48.1 percent, to 4.589 units. This was followed by Thailand with a 7.6 percent increase in motorcycle and scooter sales.

In contrast, Vietnam posted a 34.3 percent decline in motorcycle and scooter sales. It was followed by Malaysia and Singapore with a decline of 9.1 and 3.0 percent, respectively.

During the first eight months, motorcycle and scooter sales in ASEAN  increased by 12 percent  to 8.565 million units.