Local car, motorcycle output up 21% in August, says AAF

THE PHILIPPINE auto industry’s output of cars and motorcycles rose 21% year on year to 8,173 units in August, according to the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF).

The growth reading makes the Philippines one of only two regional countries that recorded growth during the period. Myanmar produced 227 units, more than five more than in the same month last year.

Vietnam’s motor vehicle production in August dropped 19.9% to 14,749 from 18,411 last year. The other regional countries in the AAF tally also registered lower output: Thailand (-12.3%), Indonesia (-11.5%), and Malaysia (-2.1%).

In August, AAF said the region produced 364,688 motor vehicles, down 10% from 405,203 a year earlier.

For the eight months to August, the Philippines registered a 34.9% increase in output to 74,107 to lead the region in growth rate for the period.

Malaysia posted a 13.2% increase to 497,309 from January to August, while Thailand and Indonesia posted around 3% growth to 1.22 million and 947,776, respectively.

Myanmar reported an 80.5% decline in production to 601 while Vietnam posted a 29.8% decrease to 108,217.

As of August, the region produced a total of 2.85 million motor vehicles, up 3.4% from a year earlier.

In terms of sales, the Philippines posted a 21.6% growth in August to 36,714 from 30,185 last year.

Myanmar registered the highest growth in sales with 113.2% to 420, while Malaysia posted 6.1% growth to 71,745.

Sales declined 26.9% in Vietnam to 22,540, with the rest of the countries also registering a decrease at 11.7% for Thailand, 8.8% for Singapore, and  8.3% for Indonesia.

In August, AAF said the region sold a total of 283,714 units, representing a 4.6% drop from a year earlier.

The Philippines posted the strongest sales growth for the eight months, with 276,215 car and motorcycle units sold, up 29.8% from a year earlier.

Malaysia reported an 11.6% increase in sales to 501,552, while growth in Indonesia was 2.6% to 675,287 units.

Myanmar posted a 68.3% decline to 2,086. The remaining three countries also posted lower sales: Vietnam (-29.8%), Singapore (-16.9%), and Thailand (-6.2%).

From January to August, total sales in the region increased by 0.5% to 2.19 million, according to AAF. — Justine Irish D. Tabile