Phl still trails in Asean vehicle production

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines continued to lag behind its peers in the Southeast Asian region in terms of motor vehicle production as it saw the number of assembled vehicles in the first quarter decline year-on-year.

Data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) showed the Philippines produced 17,249 vehicles in the January to March period, five percent lower than the 18,160 units in the same period last year.

The number of vehicles produced by the Philippines for the first three months of the year was the lowest among the five Southeast Asian countries with assembly operations.

The same data showed that Thailand produced the most number of motor vehicles for the first quarter which reached 721,509 units, 44.5 percent higher than the 499,361 units in the same period last year.

Indonesia came in second having assembled 287,130 units in the first quarter, a 15.3 percent increase from the 249,012 units in the previous year.

Malaysia’s motor vehicle production which reached 146,051 units as of end-March, climbed 2.9 percent compared to the 141,959 units a year ago.

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Vietnam, meanwhile, saw its motor vehicle production rise by 5.1 percent to 18,297 units from 17,404 units last year.

The five countries produced a total of 1.190 million motor vehicles for the first quarter, up 28.5 percent year-on-year.

In terms of motor vehicle sales, the Philippines was in the middle of seven Southeast Asian countries, having sold 41,698 units in the first three months of the year, 27.9 percent higher than the 32,608 units in the same period last year.

Posting better sales performance in the first quarter than the Philippines was Thailand which sold 413,258 units, up 48 percent year-on-year.

The Philippines also had lower sales figures compared to Indonesia’s 295,909 units and Malaysia’s 157,664 units, which grew 18 percent and 13.8 percent from last year, respectively.

The Philippines, meanwhile, sold more motor vehicles compared to Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei.

Vietnam saw its sales rise 14 percent to 20,652 units from last year, while Singapore sold 7,637 units, down 21.3 percent from the previous year, and Brunei sold 4,339 units, which declined by 8.3 percent year-on-year.

Total sales of the seven countries which reached 941,155 units, grew 28.2 percent from the 733,863 units last year.

As for production of motorcycles and scooters, the Philippines manufactured 149,049 units for the first quarter, also lower than most countries in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia accounted for the bulk of motorcycle and scooter production in the first quarter, having assembled 1.977 million units, followed by Thailand which had 586,136 units.

Malaysia, meanwhile, produced 119,476 units.

In terms of sales performance of motorcycles and scooters for the first quarter, the Philippines was in the middle of the region.

The Philippines sold 165,831 units in the first quarter, much lower than Indonesia’s 1.971 million units, and Thailand’s 549,065 units.

The Philippines’ sales performance, however, beat Malaysia’s 125,865 units and Singapore’s 2,767 units.

The AAF is seeking to promote automotive market integration and growth, cooperation, as well as investments in the Southeast Asian region. –Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star)