PH motorcycle prod’n outpaces neighbors
The Philippines registered a robust 31 percent growth in motorcycle production in 2016, outpacing other ASEAN countries, and 18 percent increase in cars production, indicating an early traction of the government’s manufacturing resurgence program.
Data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) showed the Philippines registered the highest growth in ASEAN in the production of motorcycles and scooters to 1.040 million units or 31 percent higher than the 795,540 units produced locally in 2015. AAF tracks motor vehicles (cars and commercial vehicles) and motorcycles sales and production in ASEAN.
Malaysia’s local production grew a modest 4 percent to 395,938 units from 382,218 units in 2015 while Thailand was flat at 1.820 million units from 1.807 million in 2015.
Total two-wheeled vehicle production in the three ASEAN countries reached 3.256 million units in 2016 or 9 percent higher than
the 2.985 million units in 2015.
Philippine motorcycle manufacturers expect combined industry sales to have reached 1.5 million units in 2016. The AAF data sales, however, showed only total sales of 1.140 million units as it may have included only the report from the Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association, a five-member group mostly of Japanese brands Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and a Filipino brand Kymco. The four Japanese brands have local manufacturing operations in the country.
Another group of motorcycle players called Chamber of Assemblers and Manufacturers of Motorcycles of the Philippines, composed of 7 companies distributing Chinese-made motorcycles, reportedly sold more than 300,000 motorcycles in 2016. There are still other Chinese brands which sales have not been captured in the report.
Likewise, production of motor vehicles (cars and commercial vehicles) in the country also went up 18 percent, second only to Vietnam’s 38 percent, followed by Indonesia with 7 percent, and Thailand almost flat at 2 percent growth. Malaysia’s car production considerably declined at negative 11 percent.
With the Philippine government’s incentive-driven CARS (Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy) Program, growth in the local automotive production is expected to further improve starting this year.
Under the CARS Program, each participant (there are two – Toyota and Mitsubishi) must produce 200,000 units over six-year period. The Automotive Industry Roadmap forecasts a 500,000 unit car market by 2022. Total industry sales in 2016 already reached more than 403,000 units.
However, in terms of units of production, the Philippines still has lower volume compared to its neighbors. Motor vehicle manufacturers in the Philippines produced 116,868 units of vehicles from 98,768 units in 2015. Of the total local production, 45,853 units were passenger vehicles and 71,015 units were commercial vehicles.
Comparatively, car companies in Vietnam produced 236,161 units from 171,753 units in 2015. Indonesia, ASEAN’s largest economy in terms of size, grew its production by 7 percent only with 1.177 million units from 1.098 million in 2015.
Thailand, the Detroit of ASEAN, grew its production to 1.944 million units in 2016 from 1.913 million units in 2015.
Combined, the AAF reported that the five ASEAN countries where there are motor vehicles manufacturing operations produced a total of 4.020 million units or a slight 3 percent increase from 3.896 units in 2015.