Phl continues to post fastest car sales growth in Asean

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines continued to post the fastest growth in sales of motor vehicles and motorcycles in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region in the first seven months of the year amid rising demand. 

Data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) showed the country’s motor vehicle sales rose by 26 percent to 129,687 units as of end-July from 102,917 units in the comparable period last year.

The growth in the country’s motor vehicle sales in the seven-month period is the highest in the region, beating Vietnam’s 24 percent, Singapore’s 23.1 percent, Malaysia’s three percent and Indonesia’s 2.7 percent.

In Thailand and Brunei, motor vehicle posted sales year-on-year declines of 39.2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, as of the end of July. 

Total motor vehicle sales in the ASEAN region also dropped by 12 percent to 1.87 million units from 2.12 million units in the previous year.

In terms of motorcycle and scooters, the Philippines’ sales also expanded at the fastest pace in the region in the January to July period. 

Motorcycle and scooter sales in the Philippines went up by 6.6 percent to 445,415 units from 417,931 units.

Apart from the Philippines, Indonesia was the only country in the region which saw its motorcycle and scooter sales rise, with its 2.4 percent year-on-year uptick.

Countries which posted year-on-year decreases in motorcycle and scooter sales for the seven-month period were Thailand (-18.5 percent), Malaysia (-21.1 percent) and Singapore (-28.6 percent).

Motorcycle and scooter sales in the ASEAN dropped slightly by 2.5 percent to 6.51 million units.

In terms of motor vehicle production, the Philippines posted the second highest growth rate in output. 

The Philippines assembled a total of 53,237 motor vehicles as of end-July, up 23.1 percent from only 43,233 units in the same period a year ago.

The rate of increase in the Philippines’ motor vehicle output follows Vietnam’s 35 percent, but is ahead of Indonesia’s 10.7 percent, Malaysia’s three percent and Thailand’s – 28.5 percent.

The ASEAN’s total motor vehicle output fell by 12.2 percent to 2.349 million units in the seven-month period from last year’s 2.676 million units.

The Philippines also placed second in terms of growth in motorcycle and scooter assembly in the region as it saw a 2.1 percent hike in output which reached 420,464 units.

For same period, Indonesia’s motorcycle and scooter output climbed by 2.7 percent year-on-year, while production in other countries in the region slid such as Malaysia (-21.7 percent) and Thailand (-21 percent).

Motorcycle and scooter assembly in the ASEAN went down by 3.3 percent to 6.548 million units.

The AAF seeks to promote automotive market integration and growth, cooperation, as well as investments in the Southeast Asian region.

The Philippine government which aims to make the country a manufacturing hub in the region, is finalizing the automotive industry road map.