Philippine vehicle sales deteriorated further in August, deepening the industry’s 2026 contraction even as surging demand for electrified models accelerated a shift in the market.
Total industry sales reached 271,336 units in the first eight months of the year, down 11.1 percent from 305,381 units in the same period in 2025, according to data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association.
The weakness intensified in August. Sales fell to 29,611 units, down 20.7 percent from July and 18.1 percent from a year earlier, underscoring the challenge facing automakers as they try to reverse the industry’s full-year decline.
Commercial vehicles, which accounted for nearly 80 percent of industry sales, fell 11.4 percent year to date, while passenger-car sales dropped 10.3 percent.
But the broader slowdown masks a sharp divergence in consumer demand: electrified vehicles are expanding rapidly even as conventional vehicle sales remain under pressure.
Combined sales of battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrids surged 146.2 percent to 45,403 units through August. Their share of total industry sales nearly tripled to 16.73 percent, from 6.04 percent a year earlier.
Battery electric vehicle sales jumped 293 percent to 12,883 units, while plug-in hybrid sales increased more than 15-fold to 8,756 units. Hybrid electric vehicle sales climbed 62.9 percent to 23,764 units.
The shift is reshaping the competitive landscape even as overall volumes shrink.
Toyota retained its dominant position with 133,300 units and a 49.13 percent market share, although its sales were down 8.9 percent from a year earlier. Mitsubishi ranked second with 46,162 units, a 20.3 percent decline.
The latest figures underscore a two-speed Philippine auto market: total demand remains weak, but electrified vehicles are gaining traction at a pace that is increasingly difficult to ignore. The divergence suggests that the industry’s contraction is not simply a broad-based pullback in vehicle demand, but also a shift in what buyers are choosing.
