BANGKOK (Nikkei) – A total of 1.18 million new vehicles were sold in the six major ASEAN countries in the first six months of 2010, up 41% on the year, according to a Nikkei survey.

Given that Japanese cars account for about 80% of sales in these countries, the growth is expected to give a big boost to earnings at automakers. The survey covered Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore.

Sales in Indonesia jumped 76% to 370,206 vehicles, driven by strong demand for minivans with engine outputs of 1.5 liters. Such models, including Toyota's Avanza, made up 30% of total sales in the country. Indonesia overtook Thailand as the largest auto market in the region, based on sales for the half-year period.

If ASEAN sales continue at their current pace, the annual figure could exceed the record 2.09 million logged in 2008.

In Thailand, sales shot up 54% to 356,692 units, with passengers car sales jumping 60%. The growth was led by subcompacts, including new offerings from Mazda Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. Political unrest in the country has "not stopped potential customers from buying cars," said the head of Honda Motor Co.'s Thai subsidiary.

Malaysian sales rose 20% to 301,077 vehicles, while sales in the Philippines increased 37% to 82,147 cars.

The ASEAN market is significantly smaller than those of China and India, where vehicles sales last year reached 13.5 million and 2.26 million, respectively. It is nevertheless important for Japanese carmakers because of their 80% share. In contrast, their combined market share is 40% in the US, 50% in India and 20% in China.