Car sales in PH still on uptrend

THE PHILIPPINES has bucked the trend of slowing vehicle sales in Southeast Asia, remaining one of the fastest growing automotive markets in the region as of August this year.

Data from the Asean Automotive Federation showed that the Philippines posted a 20-percent growth in motor vehicle sales to 179,215 units in the first eight months of the year, making it the third fastest growing market next to Vietnam, which posted a 62.5-percent growth in sales, and Singapore, 59 percent.

The biggest decline in motor vehicle sales, meanwhile, was seen in Indonesia with a 19-percent drop in sales to 671,641 units, followed by Brunei (17 percent); Thailand (15 percent); and Malaysia (2.3 percent), AAF data showed.

Cumulatively, the seven member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations registered a 7.7-percent decline in sales to 1.96 million units from January to August this year, from the 2.1 million units a year ago.

In terms of motor vehicle production, the Philippines continued to trail its peers, as it produced only 63,511 units as of end-August this year.

This paled in comparison to Thailand, which produced the most motor vehicles for the same period at 1.26 million units, followed by Indonesia, which produced 740,385 units; Malaysia, with 417,654; and Vietnam, with 107,686 units.

The government’s new industrial policy for the local automotive manufacturing sector, however, is expected to significantly boost local vehicle production in two years.

This may, in turn, enable the country to resume export operations, according to state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

A discussion paper titled “Industrial Policies and Implementation: Philippine Automotive Manufacturing as a Lens” cited the estimates of the Philippine Automotive Competitiveness Council Inc. (PACCI), which said the local sector had “the potential to make 273,000 units by 2017 (of which 225,000 will be for domestic market and 48,000 for exports market) and 506,000 units by 2022 (of which 350,000 for domestic and 156,000 for exports market).”