-contributed by MDPPA
MANILA -Motorcycle manufacturers in the Philippines are targeting a 5-percent sales growth this year, drawing optimism from the industry’s performance during the first seven months of 2023.
The Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association (MDPPA) – a group composed of prominent motorcycle brands Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha- on Wednesday made this “modest” projection after selling a total of 932,220 units of these two-wheeled vehicles from January to July. This, the group said, translated to a 4.6-percent growth from the 890,720 units sold during the same period last year.
On this year’s sales growth target, the MDPPA said the goal was to achieve a cumulative sales of 1.6 million units by year-end, higher than the 1.5 million units sold in 2022.
“Drawing from historical trends, the months of September, October, and November have consistently exhibited heightened sales volumes, whereas the months of August and December have maintained an average profile in terms of monthly sales,” MDPPA president Norminio “Boying” Mojica said in a statement.
Despite the optimism, the MDPPA noted that the projected growth could still be affected significantly by a number of overseas and domestic factors.
“Elements like rising prices and the lingering impacts of the pandemic, such as supply chain issues and a mix of rise on in-person and remote work setups, have contributed to a situation of slower growth,” the business group said.
Data from the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Automotive Federation, an umbrella group of industry associations from member economies of the regional bloc, showed that there were 1.56 million motorcycles and scooters sold in the Philippines in 2022.
This marked a 9-percent growth compared with the 1.44 million units sold in 2021, making the Philippines the country with the second highest sales of these two-wheeled vehicles among four Asean countries with available data during that year.
Thailand held the top spot among the four, with 1.79 million units sold during the period.
Singapore and Malaysia took the last two spots, with 12,016 units and 680,749 units sold, respectively, in those countries.