SE Asia auto sales up 55% as of October

SE Asia auto sales up 55% as of October

SINGAPORE (AFP): New vehicle sales in Southeast Asia's four largest markets climbed 55 percent in the first 10 months of the year, an industry survey released Tuesday showed.

The number of new vehicles sold in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand totaled 805,125 between January and October, compared to 519,039 in the same period last year, marketing strategy company Automotive Resources Asia (ARA) said in a report.

Indonesia showed the biggest growth in October, with sales increasing 12.5 percent to 31,097 compared to September.

Malaysia recorded an eight percent increase for the month to 28,457 units, while in Thailand, October sales rose 9.6 percent to 21,127.

In the Philippines, October sales dipped 0.2 percent to 7,473.

Growth in Indonesia has been "explosive," he said, with sales for the first 10 months up 247 percent on 1999 at 243,005 units.

Malaysia remained the biggest market with 284,494 vehicles sold from January to October. Thailand recorded 205,649 sales, a 28.64 percent increase, while sales in the Philippines showed an 18.65 percent increase at 71,977.

Japan's Toyota Motors Corp. remained the brand leader with a 21-percent share of the market, followed by Proton of Malaysia and Mitsubishi.