The Philippines posted the fastest motor vehicle production and sales growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region in January to July, according to the latest data from the Asean Automotive Federation (AAF).
Data from AAF showed that only the Philippines recorded annual increases of more than 30 percent in terms of sales and production of motor vehicles during the 7-month period.
The country’s motor vehicle output in January to July rose by nearly 37 percent to 65,934 motor vehicles from the previous year’s 48,166 units.
AAF data indicated that Thailand produced 1,071,221 motor vehicles in January to July, up 5.7 percent from the 1,013,069 units produced in the same period a year ago. This was followed by Indonesia, which produced 824,777 units, a 5.5-percent increase from the 781,453 units produced last year.
Meanwhile, Malaysia produced 429,397 units of motor vehicles during the period, 16.1 percent higher than the 369,994 units produced a year ago.
Vietnam produced 93,468 units during the 7-month period, but the figure was 31.2 percent lower than the previous year’s 135,773 units.
Among the Asean countries included in the AAF report, Myanmar posted the smallest output at 387 units, a steep drop from the 3,048 units it produced in January to July 2022.
The six Asean countries produced 2,485,184 motor vehicles in January to July 2023, a 5.7-percent increase compared to the 2,351,503 units they produced in the same period a year ago.
AAF data also indicated that car sales in the Philippines rose by 31.1 percent to 239,501 units, from 182,687 units recorded a year ago.
Malaysia is another Southeast Asian country that recorded a double-digit increase in sales. It sold 429,807 motor vehicles in January to July, up 12.6 percent from the 381,680 units it sold last year.
Other Asean countries recorded single-digit increases or double-digit declines in sales, based on AAF data.
Indonesia sold 586,401 units of motor vehicles, up 4.5 percent from the 561,275 units sold in the same period last year. This was followed by Thailand which was able to sell 464,550 motor vehicles, 5.5 percent lower than the 491,329 units it sold in 2022.
Vietnam, meanwhile, posted a 30.2-percent decline in motor vehicle sales to 162,014 units from 232,094 units in January to July 2022.
Singapore also posted a double-digit decline in sales during the 7-month period. Sales dropped by 18 percent to 20,834 units, from last year’s 25,418 units.
Myanmar recorded the steepest decline in sales at 73.9 percent. Sales plunged to 1,666 units from last year’s 6,382 units.
The seven Asean countries sold 1,904,773 motor vehicles in January to July, up 1.3 percent from the 1,880,865 units they sold in the same period a year ago.
