Phl vehicle output still lowest in Asean

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has the lowest motor vehicle output in Southeast Asia in January to April 2014, even as the number of locally assembled units doubled during the period.

ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) data showed the Philippines produced a total of 26,318 motor vehicles in the first four months of the year, up 13 percent from 23,285 units in the same period last year.

The country’s performance for the four-month period however paled in comparison to its neighbors with assembly operations such as Thailand with 644,222 units; Indonesia, 461,373 units; Malaysia, 210,443 units and Vietnam, 33,068 units.

The total motor vehicle output of the region declined by 10 percent to 1.375 million units as of end-April from 1.528 million units in the same period in 2013.

In terms of sales of motor vehicles, the Philippines ranked fourth out of seven countries, as it sold 69,737 units in the January to April period, 22.1 percent higher than the 57,128 units a year ago.

The Philippines lagged behind Indonesia (435,382 units) Thailand (297,431 units) and Malaysia (218,642 units), but was ahead of Brunei (5,913 units), Singapore (12,426 units) and Vietnam (34,237 units).

Total motor vehicle sales in the region contracted by 12.9 percent to 1.074 million units in the four-month period from 1.233 million units in the comparative period last year.

For motorcycle and scooter production, the Philippines placed third out of four ASEAN countries with assembly operations.

The Philippines assembled 249,531 units of motorcycles and scooters in the four-month period, a 9.6 percent increase from the 227,674 units in the same period in 2013.

The country’s motorcycle and scooter output was better than Malaysia’s 141,215 units but lower than Thailand’s 611,834 units and Indonesia’s 2.733 million units.

ASEAN’s motorcycle and scooter output decreased by 2.1 percent to 3.735 million units in the four-month period from 3.815 million units a year ago.

Out of five Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines was third in terms of motorcycle and scooter sales as it sold 257,870 units during the period, a 19.2 percent growth from 216,261 units last year.

Indonesia sold the most number of motorcycles and scooters for the period with total sales of 2.720 million units, followed by Thailand which sold 562,942 units.

Malaysia ranked fourth with sales of 147,106 motorcycle and scooter units, while Singapore was at the bottom having sold 2,919 units.

The total number of motorcycles and scooters sold in the region fell slightly to 3.69 million units as of end-April from 3.746 million units in the previous year.

Established in 1976, the AAF seeks to promote automotive market integration, growth, cooperation, as well as investments in the ASEAN region.

Local automotive industry players earlier said investment decisions on assembly operations would depend much on the contents of the road map for the industry.

“The delay in the announcement of a road map slows down decision on further investments in the country,” Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. president Rommel Gutierrez said.

“Investors want to see first what is in store for them in terms of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives before they pour in additional investments. The continued delay will not be good for us.

We might lose this opportunity again and miss the boat again,” Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines president Ferdinand Raquelsantos said.

The Department of Trade and Industry said earlier it would release the road map for the automotive industry in the first quarter of the year but no road map has been issued so far.