LMC’s current projection for the year as a whole is around 3.1mn, down from 3.16mn in last month’s forecast.

In Thailand, sales registered at 428k, a 40% decrease YoY. However, sales in the other four markets continued to expand, with an increase during the first half of around 10%, excluding Thailand.  

By volume, sales in Indonesia grew most significantly by more than 44k, or 8%. The introduction of LCGC models, mainly in the Mini Car segment, was the main driving force for such a remarkable increase. The segment registered sales of 73k in the first half, a sizeable increase from less than 4k last year. Share of the segment increased from virtually nothing to 12%.

The annual outlook for Indonesia is currently around 1.20mn, down slightly from 1.22mn previously, as sales in recent months were not as strong as we had anticipated. The average SAAR was around 1.21mn.

Growth volume during the first half in the Philippines came in second at around 26k, or approximately 27%. The strong growth was driven by rising incomes and the introduction of new models, especially in the Sub‐Compact and Mini Car segments.  

While the Toyota Vios and the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 were behind the growth in the Sub‐Compact segment, the Toyota Wigo, the rebadged LCGC model imported from Indonesia, was behind the increase in the Mini Car segment.  

The annual outlook for the Philippines is now considerably improved to 253k from 241k previously, reflecting the ongoing strong market momentum.  

Malaysia and Vietnam followed, with growth volumes of around 19k and 13k, respectively. While sales of new Sub‐Compact models were behind the growth in Malaysia,  according to LMC Automotive, it was the Mini Car segment in Vietnam that drove the market upward.