Philippines leads motorcycle sales growth in ASEAN

MANILA, Philippines – Mobility and price continue to fuel the Philippine motorcycle industry on the growth track, bucking the downtrend in neighboring countries where two-wheeled motorized vehicles are also in demand.

The Philippines remains among the growth markets in Southeast Asia for motorcycle and scooter sales in the first four months of the year, data from the Asean Automotive Federation (Asean AutoFed) showed.

Sales of motorcycles and scooters in the country posted the highest year-on-year growth of 38.7 percent in the January to April period among five Southeast Asian markets monitored by the Asean AutoFed.

A total 351,102 units were sold in the country during the four-month period as compared to 253,129 units recorded in the same period last year.

Singapore, a smaller motorcycle market in terms of volume compared to the Philippines, posted a 9.3-percent jump in sales to 2,656 units as of end-April.

Sales in Malaysia were flat year-on-year while those in Indonesia and Thailand — the region’s top two motorcycle markets — declined 4.8 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

Overall, motorcycle and scooter sales in the five Asean-member countries dipped 1.8 percent in the first four months of the year to 3.11 million units from 3.17 million units in the same period in 2015.

At present, sales of motorcycles and scooters in the country continue to be larger than that of cars, which reached 104,176 units as of end- April.

Federation of Automotive Industries of the Philippines president Vicente Mills Jr. told The STAR the growth is due to its affordability and mobility that two-wheeled motorized vehicles offer.

“An ordinary factory worker who has that, instead of waiting for his bus, for just a downpayment of about P4,000 to P5,000, can easily have one hour more for getting home earlier or leaving home later. So that’s good productivity of his time. That’s step one in mobility. It gives you the freedom, especially those living in the provinces,” Mills said.

“Aside from mobility, the growth is really being driven by price. Manufacturers are producing bare models that are affordable, and financing has also become available,” he added.

Mills said the current problem surrounding the industry is in educating motorcycle users on driving safely to avoid accidents.

With its continued growth demand locally, production of motorcycles and scooters has likewise been improving.

In the first four months of the year, Philippine production of motorcycles posted the only growth among countries with local manufacturing operations in the region.

A total 319,225 units were produced in the country during the period, 23 percent more than the previous year.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s production fell 31.2 percent to 1.54 million units, while that of Thailand and Malaysia slipped 13.5 percent to 583,451 units and 2.7 percent to 137,156 units, respectively.