ASEAN's annual car sales increase by 66 percent

ASEAN's annual car sales increase by 66 percent

SINGAPORE (AFP): ASEAN's big four automotive markets -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand -- have recorded a 66 percent annual sales growth in the first six months of the year, according to an industry survey.

Combined sales of 454,145 units were recorded from January to June, up from 272,847 in the same period last year, according to Singapore-based auto component maker Visteon.

Indonesia posted the sharpest growth with 126,563 sales, nearly six times higher than the first half of 1999.

Sales in Malaysia, the leading regional market, were up 26 percent at 163,721, Thailand sales rose 43 percent to 122,339, while in the Philippines the six monthly sales reached 41,522, a 19 percent increase.

"We can now see that ASEAN's big four markets will likely reach the one million mark this year in sales," said Visteon's ASEAN manager Terry Yanagisawa.

Toyota was the most popular make in the big-four market with 21 percent of the sales, followed by Malaysian manufacturer Proton with 17 percent and Mitsubishi with 12.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.