Despite erratic production due to the changes in quarantine status throughout the year, the Philippines recorded higher output in both four-wheel vehicles and motorcycles in the first nine months of the year.
Data from the Asean Automotive Federation (AAF) showed motor vehicle production rose 36 percent to 63,341 units from 46,628 units last year. Motorcycle production increased 55.5 percent to 639,268 units from 411,143 units a year ago.
The Philippines, however, is second to the lowest in production in Asean which produced 2.49 million units, up 30 percent from 1.9 million units a year ago.
For motorcycles, AAF data available showed the Philippines produced the second highest number of units in the region which cumulatively produced 2.2 million units from 1.85 million last year.
In terms of sales, the Philippines also lagged behind, at fourth from the seven countries in the region with sales of 191,605 units, up 29.5 percent from 148,012 units.
At this level, the Philippines accounted for 10 percent of total Asean sales of 1.9 million, an increase of 17 percent from 1.63 million in 2020. – Irma Isip