Philippines leads Asean in vehicle output growth in 2023

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines emerged as the fastest-growing country in Southeast Asia in terms of motor vehicle production in 2023 as it registered a 19.7 percent increase.

Based on data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Automotive Federation (AAF), 110,350 vehicles were assembled in the Philippines in 2023, higher than the 92,223 units produced in 2022.

Malaysia followed with a 10.3 percent increase to 774,600 units from 702,275 units.

In contrast, Myanmar posted the largest decline in vehicle production in 2023 registering a 53.5 percent drop to 1,475 units from 3,175 units in 2022.

Other ASEAN countries tracked by AAF also posted declines in vehicle production such as Vietnam with 23.7 percent, Indonesia with 5.1 percent and Thailand with 2.2 percent.

Motor vehicle production in ASEAN slipped by 1.9 percent to 4.3 million units in 2023 from 4.38 million in 2022.

The Philippines also posted the highest growth rate in motor vehicle sales at 21.9 percent, selling a total of 429,807 units in 2023 from 352,596 units in 2022, followed  by Malaysia with a 10.9 percent increase to 799,731 units.

Myanmar also posted the largest decline in motor vehicle sales at 52.5 percent.

Three other ASEAN countries also posted declines in motor vehicle sales including Vietnam with 25.4 percent, Singapore with 9.1 percent, Thailand with 8.7 percent and Indonesia with four percent.

Motor vehicle sales in the region also contracted by 2.1 percent to 3.36 million units in 2023 from 3.43 million 2022.

On the other hand, the Philippines’ motorcycle and scooter production jumped by 23.1 percent to 1.24 million units, the highest growth among ASEAN countries, data from the AAF also showed.

This was followed by Indonesia and Thailand with growth of 14.1 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, Malaysia posted a 19.9 percent decline in motorcycle and scooter production as well as Vietnam with a 19.2 percent decline.

Motorcycles and scooters assembled within the ASEAN inched up by three  percent to 13.4 million units from 13.04 million units, while sales grew by 3.6 percent to 12.7 million units from 12.27 million units.

The Philippines registered a 0.5 percent decline in motorcycle and scooter sales in 2023 to 1.56 million units. Malaysia posted the biggest decline in motorcycle and scooter sales at 20.4 percent and Vietnam at 16.2 percent.

Indonesia posted the highest increase in motorcycle and scooter sales at 19.4 percent, to 6.24 million units. This was followed by Thailand with a 3.6 percent increase in motorcycle and scooter sales and Singapore with a 1.6 percent increase.