Posted on 21 Apr 2015
The Philippines posted the lowest motor vehicle output in the Southeast Asian region in the first two months of the year industry data showed.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Automotive Federation data showed the Philippines assembled a total of 13,480 motor vehicles in the January to February period this year, up slightly from the 13,357 units in the same period last year.
Despite the slight uptick in motor vehicle production volume as of end-February, the Philippines still lagged behind its neighbors Thailand (344,751 units), Indonesia (191,739 units), Malaysia (103,612 units) and Vietnam (19,856 units).
The region’s total motor vehicle output meanwhile, declined by 1.4 percent to 673,438 units in the January to February period this year from 683,212 units a year ago.
As for motor vehicle sales, the Philippines ranked fourth in seven Asean countries as it sold 39,325 units in the first two months of the year, 21 percent higher than the 32,506 units sold a year ago.
The country beat Brunei (2,610 units), Singapore (8,547 units) and Vietnam (25,717 units), but fell behind Indonesia (182,933 units), Thailand (123,666 units) and Malaysia (100,992 units).
Motor vehicle sales in the Asean dipped by 5.6 percent to 483,790 units as of end-February this year from the 512,562 units sold in the same period last year.
In terms of motorcycle and scooter production, the Philippines placed third out of four countries with assembly operations in the region, manufacturing 137,835 units in the January to February period this year, up 11.9 percent from 123,160 units produced a year ago.
The Philippines had a better motorcycle and scooter production performance as of end-February compared to Malaysia (66,858 units), but lagged behind Indonesia (1.077 million units) and Thailand (352,530 units).
The number of motorcycles and scooters produced in the Asean slid by 6.8 percent to 1.634 million units in the January to February period this year compared to 1.753 million units in the same period in 2014.
Out of five countries, the Philippines placed third in terms of motorcycle and scooter sales, having sold 126,806 units in the first two months of 2015, a 0.7 percent increase from 125,951 units sold a year ago.
The Philippines was ahead of Singapore (1,155 units) and Malaysia (69,887 units) but had lower sales volumes compared to Indonesia (1.084 million units) and Thailand (294,966 units).
Total motorcycle and scooter sales in the Asean fell by 8.8 percent to 1.577 million units in the January to February period this year from 1.729 million units sold in the previous year.
As the government is pushing for the resurgence of the manufacturing sector, the Department of Trade and Industry is coming up with the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) which contains measures to make the country a regional automotive manufacturing hub and raise total vehicle output.
Under the CARS, the government wants to extend fiscal and non-fiscal support amounting to $600 million from its national budget to industry players that will meet certain production levels and export.
The government wants the manufacturing sector to grow to create jobs and achieve inclusive growth.
