Local Vehicle Production Suffers 44% Reduction in 2018

According to the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF), the region's vehicle manufacturing industry experienced an 8-percent growth in 2018, producing a total of 4,368,870 units for the year compared to just 4,047,196 units the previous year.

The Philippine vehicle industry however, was only able to supply 79,763 of that total, a whopping 61,488 units less than the 141,251 total deliveries in 2017.

Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) President Rommel Gutierrez attributed the drop in production to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, which was implemented at the beginning of 2018. Gutierrez has said before that the plunge was to be expected given the higher excise tax on vehicles brought on by TRAIN, which has led to a significant price increase in all but a few models.

Thailand retained the title of number one producer in the region with 2,167,694 units. Indonesia came in second with 1,343,714 manufactured cars. Malaysia took third place with 564,971 produced units last year.

On the other hand, local motorcycle sales grew, improving by 7 percent from 1,173,883 units in 2017 to 1,258,566 units last year.