MANILA, Philippines — Motor vehicle production in the country went up by 13 percent in the January to May period from a year ago, the second highest growth in Southeast Asia.
Data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Automotive Federation (AAF) showed the Philippines assembled 54,045 motor vehicles in the first five months of the year, up from 47,761 units in the same period in 2023.
Posting the highest growth in motor vehicle production in the five-month period was Myanmar, which saw motor vehicle output jump by 847.2 percent to 843 units this year from just 89 units in the same period a year ago.
Aside from the Philippines and Myanmar, only Malaysia registered an increase in motor vehicle production in the five-month period, with its output up by 12.2 percent.
Meanwhile, all the other ASEAN countries covered by the AAF report registered declines in motor vehicle production in the January to May period such as Indonesia at 20.6 percent, Thailand at 16.9 percent and Vietnam at 8.7 percent.
ASEAN produced 1.57 million motor vehicles in the January to May period this year, down by 12 percent from the 1.78 million units in the same period in 2023.
Motor vehicle sales in the Philippines picked up by 12.7 percent in the January to May period to 187,191 units from 166,104 units in the previous year.
The Philippines was the third fastest growing country in motor vehicle sales in ASEAN in the January to May period next to Myanmar, which posted a 70.5 percent increase and Singapore’s 22.4 percent.
The country was ahead of Malaysia, which posted 8.3 percent growth in motor vehicle sales, as well as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand where sales declined from a year ago.
Total motor vehicle sales in ASEAN dipped by 9.2 percent to 1.24 million units in the January to May period from 1.36 million units in the same period last year.
However, in terms of motorcycle and scooter production, the Philippines’ output dropped by 4.2 percent to 544,028 units in the January to May period from 568,118 units in the same period in 2023.
Motorcycle and scooter production in all other ASEAN countries covered by the AAF report in the January to May period also fell year-on-year by 16.6 percent in Malaysia, nine percent in Thailand and 2.4 percent in Indonesia.
Motorcycles and scooters assembled in ASEAN declined by 4.7 percent to 4.46 million units in the January to May period from 4.68 million units in the same period in 2023.
Sales of motorcycles and scooters in the Philippines, however, climbed by 0.5 percent to 685,314 units in the January to May period from 682,035 units in the same period last year.
Apart from the Philippines, only Singapore registered higher motorcycle and scooter sales in the January to May period, rising by five percent.
Other countries where motorcycle and scooter sales declined year-on-year in the January to May period are Malaysia (12.6 percent), Thailand (9.2 percent) and Indonesia (1.8 percent).
ASEAN’s motorcycle and scooter sales in the January to May period slid by 3.4 percent to 4.31 million units from 4.47 million units in the same period last year.