Vehicle sales grew by a modest 1.7 percent in the first five months of the year, compared with a year earlier, with an increase in the commercial vehicles segment offsetting a sales drop in passenger cars, an industry report said.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) said motor vehicle sales from January to May rose to 190,429 units from 187,191 units in the same period in 2024.
The report said passenger car sales fell a hefty 26 percent to 38,725 units in January to May 2025 from 49,247 units in the year-earlier period. The segment accounted for 26.31 percent of total sales.
However, commercial vehicle (CV) sales remained vibrant, growing 10 percent to 151,704 units in the five-month period from 137,944 units last year. The segment had a market share of 73.69 percent of total sales.
The auto industry was encouraged by its sustained growth, especially with commercial vehicles driving up overall performance.
“This reaffirms the significant role of the automotive sector in supporting the country’s economic activities,” CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gutierrez said CAMPI sees strong momentum heading into the second half of the year.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said vehicle sales data had been weighed down by dampened consumer/business sentiment due to the Trump administration’s tariffs/trade war.
Ricafort expects reduced global trade, investments, employment and a slowdown in the world economy could also indirectly impact the local economy.
However, this could be offset by the US Fed and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ rate cuts of -1 since late last year that could reduce borrowing costs/financing costs for vehicles, Ricafort added.
In May alone, total sales stood at 39,775 units, an increase of 18.4 percent from 33,580 units in April 2025, but a 1.2-percent decline from May 2024 sales of 40,271 units.
Based on the CAMPI-TMA report, electric vehicles (EVs) sold 10,433 units in January to May 2025, equivalent to 5.6 percent of the market.
The EV segment was led by hybrid EVs (HEVs) with 8,536 units followed by battery EVs (BEVs) with 1,779 units. Plug-in hybrids sold 118 units.
In the EV segment, Toyota Motor Philippines also dominated the market with sales of 7,012 units of HEVs followed by Tesla Motors Philippines which sold 1,001 units of BEVs.
The CAMPI/TMA data showed that in the five-month period, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the dominant market player with 48.13 percent share for its sales of 91,652 units. It was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. selling 36,613 units or 19.23 percent share.
Rounding up the top five are Nissan Philippines Inc. which sold 9,879 units equivalent to 5.19 percent share; Suzuki Philippines Inc., 8,913 units or 4.68 percent share and Ford Group Philippines, 8,559 units or a share of 4.49 percent.
