MOTOR vehicle industry output in May rose 22.8% to 11,650 units, the second-strongest growth rate in the region, according to the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF).
The AAF reported on Thursday that Philippine production growth outperformed the 9.35% contraction in the region in May.
The AAF report covers motor vehicle production in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Myanmar posted the top growth rate in the region, albeit off a low base, to 213 cars.
Next to the Philippines were Malaysia, which posted 14.2% growth to 74,174 motor vehicles, and Vietnam, up 10.4% at 13,377.
Indonesia booked an 18.1% decline in production to 98,100 vehicles, while Thai output fell 16.2% to 126,161 units.
In the five months to May, Philippine motor vehicle production grew 13.2% to 54,045 cars, also the region’s second-strongest performance in the region.
Myanmar posted the strongest growth during the five-month period, also off a low base, to 843 units.
Following the Philippines was Malaysia, which posted 12.2% growth to 341,500 units in the first five months.
Declines during the period were reported by Indonesia (-20.6%), Thailand (-16.9%), and Vietnam (-8.7%). These brought the region’s motor vehicle production growth for the period to -12% to 1.57 million.
The Philippines booked 5.5% growth in vehicle sales to 40,271 units in May, the fourth highest rate in the region.
Singapore came in first with a 48.4% increase in sales in May to 3,847 units.
Vietnam posted a 24.5% jump in sales to 25,794 units, while Malaysia sales rose 8.7% to 68,665 units.
Sales in Thailand and Indonesia declined 23.4% and 13.3% to 49,871 and 71,263 units, respectively.
These brought regionwide sales in May to a decline of 4.4% to 260,092 units.
For the five-month period, the Philippines posted a 12.7% growth in motor vehicle sales to 187,191 units for the third-fastest growth in the region.
Myanmar posted 70.5% growth to 1,601 units in the five months to May. Malaysia posted an 8.3% increase in sales to 328,901 units.
Declines were posted in Thailand (-23.9%), Indonesia (-21%) and Vietnam (-4.6%) for the period.
In the five months to May, the region’s motor vehicle sales dropped 9.2% to 1.24 million units. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
