Philippines sole growth market for motorcycles in Asean

MANILA, Philippines - Two-wheeled motorized vehicles continue to rule Philippine roads as the country’s traffic and public transportation woes persist.

The Philippines is currently the only market in Southeast Asia to register growth in sales for motorcycles in the 10 months to October, data from the Asean Automotive Federation showed.

Sales of motorcycles and scooters in the country grew 6.9 percent in the 10-month period to 683,074 units from 639,211 units last year, bucking the downtrend in other countries in the region.

Indonesia’s motorcycle and scooter market posted the biggest slowdown, declining 17.2 percent during the period, followed by Malaysia’s 14 percent drop.

Sales of motorcycles and scooters in Singapore also saw a decline of 11.1 percent while that in Thailand decreased 4.5 percent.

Sales in the Philippines were at its strongest this year during the month of October with a total of 85,883 units of motorcycles and scooters sold.

In terms of the number of units sold as of end October, the Philippines ranked third behind Thailand’s 5.6 million units and Thailand’s 1.4 million units.

With the strong demand locally, production in the country of two-wheeled motorized vehicles rose six percent to 657,338 units in the 10-month period from 619,955 units in the same period last year.

The three other Association of Southeast Asian Nations-member economies which has motorcycle and scooter production posted a decline in their local manufacturing and assembly.

Indonesia’s production decreased 26.9 percent, while Malaysia and Thailand saw a decline of 13.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Total production in the region based on data collated by the Asean Automotive Federation showed a 19.8 percent plunge in the January to October 2015 period to 7.45 million units from 9.3 million units last year.