PHILIPPINE MOTOR VEHICLE production increased by 23% in September, the second fastest among six Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, data showed.
Data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) showed 10,822 motor vehicles were assembled in the Philippines in September, up by 23% from the 8,800 units produced a year ago.
Myanmar posted the fastest growth in motor vehicle production in ASEAN, surging 23 times to 206 units from nine units a year ago.
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam all posted a contraction in motor vehicle output in September.
Malaysia saw a 0.4% drop in production to 69,133 motor vehicles, while Thailand’s output declined by 8.4% to 164,093 motor vehicles.
Vehicle production in Indonesia dropped by 23.8% to 110,401, while Vietnam’s output fell by 24% to 14,596.
In September, AAF data showed the region saw a 12.4% decline in motor vehicle production to 369,251.
For the January-to-September period, the Philippines posted the fastest growth in motor vehicle output at 33.3% to 84,929 units from 63,718 a year ago.
Vehicle production in Malaysia and Thailand increased by 11.3% and 1.6%, respectively during the nine-month period.
On the other hand, Indonesia (0.4%), Vietnam (28.7%) and Myanmar (73.8%) reported a decline in production in the period ending September.
AAF data also showed sales of motor vehicles in the Philippines grew by 9.5% to 38,628 in September.
For the nine-month period, vehicle sales in the Philippines jumped by 26.9% to 314,843 units, from 248,154 last year.
The Philippines and Malaysia (11.1%) were the only two ASEAN countries that registered an annual growth in motor vehicle sales in the January-to-September period.
As of end-September, an annual decline in sales were seen in Myanmar (64.1%), Vietnam (29.2%), Singapore (16.3%), Thailand (7.4%) and Indonesia (0.4%).
From January to September, a total of 2.47 million motor vehicles were sold in the ASEAN countries, 0.9% lower than 2.49 million sold in the same period last year.
MOTORCYCLE PRODUCTIONMeanwhile, AAF data showed the Philippines posted the fastest year-on-year growth in motorcycle and scooter production among five ASEAN countries in September.
Motorcycle and scooter production in the Philippines jumped by 4.6% to 92,861 in September from 88,767 last year.
The Philippines was the only country that posted an increase in production during the month.
In September, motorcycle and scooter production declined in Malaysia (41.2%), Vietnam (35.5%), Thailand (14.4%) and Indonesia (4.8%).
Overall, the region saw a 15.6% drop in production of motorcycles and scooters to 1.08 million in September.
In the first nine months of 2023, the Philippines also recorded the fastest growth in the production of motorcycles and scooters with a 34.6% increase to 942,255 units from 700,021 a year ago.
Motorcycle and scooter production in Indonesia and Thailand rose by 23.2% and 11.1% respectively as of end-September.
However, output in Malaysia and Vietnam dropped by 12% and 15.5%, respectively.
In the nine months to September, the region produced 10.14 million motorcycles and scooters, up by 10.4% from 9.18 million last year.
AAF data showed sales of motorcycles and scooters in the Philippines declined by 13.6% to 121,574 in September.
For the nine-month period, the Philippines saw a 0.3% drop in motorcycle and scooter sales to 1.165 million from 1.168 million in the same period last year.
Only Indonesia and Thailand recorded an increase in sales during the January-to-September period, growing by 30.7% and 6.1%, respectively.
Annual declines in sales were seen in Singapore (2.4%), Vietnam (14%) and Malaysia (14.4%) as of end-September.
For the January-to-September period, a total of 9.64 million motorcycles and scooters were sold in the six ASEAN countries, up by 9.2% from 8.83 million a year ago. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
