STELLAR PERFORMANCE The Philippines produced 9,706 motor vehicle units in February. —FILE PHOTO
MANILA — The number of motor vehicles assembled in the Philippines increased by 67.2 percent in February, rising by more than half for the second straight month this year as the country continued to outperform five other countries in Southeast Asia in terms of growth.
Data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Automotive Federation, an umbrella group of industry associations from member economies of the Asean regional bloc, showed the Philippines produced 9,706 motor vehicle units during the month, higher than the 5,805 units produced in the same month in 2022.
The Philippines continued its two-month lead in terms of growth, with Malaysia trailing at a far 24.4 percent growth rate.
This is followed by Indonesia with 7.8 percent and Thailand with 6.4 percent.
In contrast, Myanmar and Vietnam’s production output suffered a decline of 90.5 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.
Despite leading in growth, the Philippines continued to lag behind in terms of production volume, settling for the second-to-the-last place among the six countries.
Thailand continued to be the largest producer among the six, assembling 165,612 motor vehicle units during the month.
Indonesia followed with 123,894 units, Malaysia with 63,798 units and Vietnam with 12,595 units.
Myanmar produced 41 motor vehicle units during the same month, a drastic decline from its monthly output in 2022, which numbered in the hundreds.
Cumulatively, the six countries produced 375,646 units in February, posting a 9.8 percent year-on-year increase.
Of the three Southeast Asian countries with available data, the Philippines ranked second in February in motorcycle and scooter production, both in terms of numbers produced and growth rate.
Local producers of these two-wheeled vehicles assembled 116,411 units, posting a 50.8 percent growth compared to the February 2022 production of 77,207 units.
Thailand was the highest producer for the second-straight month this year, with an output of 188,272 units. Despite this, it ranked third in terms of growth at 33 percent. INQ