Phl lags behind Asean neighbors in vehicle output

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines had the lowest motor vehicle output in the Southeast Asian region at the start of the year.

Data from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Automotive Federation showed the Philippines assembled 6,470 motor vehicles in January, up 6.4 percent from the 6,078 units produced in the same month last year.

Despite posting growth, the volume is still lower than those produced by the country’s neighbors such as Vietnam (12,112 units), Malaysia (56,654 units), Indonesia (98,838 units) and Thailand (166,400 units).

The region’s total motor vehicle output rose 1.2 percent to 340,474 units in January this year from the previous year’s production of 336,367 units.

In terms of motor vehicle sales, the Philippines placed fourth out of seven countries, as it sold 18,662 units in January this year, a 19.3 percent uptick from the 15,647 units sold in the same month a year ago.

The Philippines was ahead of Brunei (1,411 units), Singapore (4,728 units) and Vietnam (16,110 units) but lagged behind Indonesia (94,194 units), Thailand (59,721 units) and Malaysia (50,602 units).

Motor vehicle sales in the entire Asean region declined 2.4 percent to 245,428 units in January this year from the 251,469 units sold in the same month in 2014.

As for motorcycle and scooter production, the Philippines ranked third out of four countries with assembly operations in the region.

The country produced a total of 67,108 motorcycles and scooters in January, 3.4 percent higher than the 64,882 units assembled a year ago.

It beat Malaysia (37,468 motorcycle and scooter units), but was behind Thailand (173,146 units) and Indonesia (524,368 units).

Asean’s total motorcycle and scooter output fell 7.3 percent to 802,090 units in January this year from the previous year’s 864,878 units.

Meanwhile, the Philippines got the third spot out of five countries in the region in terms of motorcycle and scooter sales, as it sold 60,507 units in January this year, climbing slightly from the 60,412 units sold last year.

The Philippines had higher motorcycle and scooter sales compared to Singapore (670 units) and Malaysia (38,276 units), but had lower volume than Thailand (142,929 units) and Indonesia (513,816 units).

Total motorcycle and scooter sales in the Asean dropped 5.7 percent to 756,198 units in January this year from 801,552 units in the same month in 2014.

Motor vehicle assemblers as well as automotive parts makers have called on the government to release the automotive industry roadmap as the policy is needed to come up with investment plans.

The government wants to position the Philippines as a regional manufacturing hub through the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program.

Under the program, the government may extend both fiscal and non-fiscal support amounting to $600 million from its national budget to industry players that meet certain production levels.