PH auto sector bucks sales decline trend in region
The Philippines has bucked the trend of continued decline in motor vehicle sales in the region, and remained among the most lucrative markets for automotive companies.
Data from the Asean Automotive Federation showed that the Philippines was one of only three member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that registered an increase in vehicle sales in January.
Four other economies in Asean—Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand— recorded a drop in sales for the same period.
The local automotive industry recorded a 27.6-percent sales hike in January this year, while Singapore and Vietnam saw their vehicle sales growing by 89.7 percent and 35.8 percent, respectively.
Cumulatively, the seven Asean economies being monitored by the Asean AutoFed showed a 3.5-percent decline in vehicle sales to 236,930 units in January.
Volume-wise, however, the Philippines continued to trail behind Indonesia, which saw its vehicle sales hitting 84,885 units in January this year, followed by Thailand, with 51,821 units, and Malaysia, with 44,591 units.
In terms of motor vehicle production, the Philippines remained a laggard in the region in terms of the number of units produced at 8,826 units.
This despite the fact that the Philippines posted the biggest percentage increase of 36.4 percent year-on-year.
Thailand remained the frontrunner in motor vehicle production in the region, having produced 147,651 units in the first month of the year.
This reflected an 11.7-percent decrease compared to the number of units produced by Thailand in the same month in 2015.
Indonesia, meanwhile, posted a 15. 7-percent decline in motor vehicle production to 83,587 units, while Malaysia saw a 17.5-percent drop to 46,731 units.
Vietnam, for its part, recorded a 33.3-percent increase in production to 16,150 units in January.
Cumulatively, the five Asean economies registered an 11.3- percent drop in production to 302,945 units for the same period, data from the Asean Automotive Federation also showed.
