Every time I see an electric vehicle on the road, I find myself asking whether owning one is really worth it.
The benefits are clear: if I go full electric then I no longer have to pay for gasoline or diesel. What about reports of EVs allegedly exploding? What happens after the eight-year warranty on the battery expires? With a new battery costing P300,000, would it make more economic sense to just sell the EV? But at what price? It might not even cover the down payment for a new one.
Am I interested in EVs because every other Tom, Dick and Harry is? Is it just FOMO (fear of missing out) on my part?
More and more Filipinos are convinced though that the shift is worth it.
In fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that the EV market in the Philippines will account for around 45 percent of total vehicle sales in the country by 2035 if the government implements stronger policies to support the sector.
Last year, EVs’ share in the country was only 10 percent, which was definitely an improvement from a negligible level a year earlier.
The Philippine government hopes that electric cars will account for at least half of the vehicles on the road by 2040.
According to the IEA’s Global Electric Vehicle Outlook for 2026, the country’s tax breaks on imported EVs are projected to provide the needed boost in the near term. It noted that similar to other Southeast Asian countries, policy support in the Philippines takes the form of excise tax relief and import duty exemptions for electric cars.
Then there’s the number coding exemption for EVs which, prior to the Middle East crisis that saw Philippine fuel pump prices soaring through the roof, was the major reason why Filipinos turned to EV.
Chinese imports, BYD in particular, were leading the market and the dominance of Chinese EV manufacturers is seen to continue as the tariff exemption runs until 2028.
The appetite for EVs in the Philippines remains.
A joint report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that while Philippine vehicle sales dropped by an annual 16 percent in May amid double-digit declines in passenger and commercial vehicles, sales of electrified vehicles (xEVs) continued to increase as pump prices remained elevated.
CAMPI president Jose Maria Atienza said that they continue to observe expanding demand for various types of xEVs, with cumulative January-May 2026 sales already doubling compared to last year.
The report showed that xEV sales rose by 66.8 percent to 6,027 units in May from the 3,616 units sold in the same month last year. This includes battery EV (BEV), plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) and hybrid EV (HEV). In the January to May 2026 period, xEV sales surged by 133.5 percent to 24,356 units from the 10,431 units sold in the same period in 2025.
CAMPI said that xEVs now account for 18 percent of the total market, with the accelerating growth trend only held back by availability constraints resulting from the sudden surge in demand.
HEVs, which accounted for 48.28 percent of EV sales soared by 79.3 percent to 15,299 units for the January to May period compared to the same period last year.
According to one report as of last April, Chinese automaker BYD led the Philippine EV segment with a 55 percent market share while growing 67.2 percent, followed by Vietnam’s Vinfast and Tesla. BYD was also the third best-selling automotive brand for the first four months of 2026.
CAMPI, meanwhile, reported that Vinfast was the top-selling BEV brand during the first quarter while Toyota retained its leadership in hybrid sales and Jetour in the plug-in hybrid segment. BYD is not a member of CAMPI.
The IEA 2026 report, meanwhile, expects global electric car sales to grow to 23 million this year, representing 28 percent of total car sales, with Europe poised for the largest growth among major markets. In China, sales are set to grow though at a slower rate than in previous years to reach almost 60 percent of total car sales while sales across Asia Pacific countries other than China are seen growing by over 50 percent and in Latin America, 45 percent.
Global fleet of EVs is projected by the IEA report to grow more than sixfold by 2035 from 2025 levels to reach 510 million, excluding electric two or three-wheeler. It said that the increasing cost-competitiveness of EVs, along with tighter carbon dioxide and fuel economy standards, are poised to drive market growth, pushing up the share of EVs in global car sales to around 50 percent by 2023.
On the other hand, the share of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, IEA noted, continues to shrink in all scenarios and sales have not returned to their 2017 peak.
Meanwhile, China accounted for over 80 percent of battery cell production in 2025 and even higher shares of production of the active materials in EV batteries. Nearly all battery cells used worldwide are supplied by companies headquartered in China, Korea or Japan. And despite lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity growing faster in the European Union and the US than in China last year, China is still set to remain the largest producer of batteries and battery materials to 2035, the IEA report added.
The global shift to EV seems inevitable, especially for countries that still import most of their fuel, like the Philippines.
Battery prices remain a huge concern for many. According to the IEA report, average battery prices declined by eight percent in 2025, supported by continued improvements in manufacturing efficiency, advances and shifts in battery chemistries and technology and intensifying global market competition. Relatively low critical mineral prices also contributed to downward cost pressure but recent increases in lithium and cobalt prices, if sustained, could put upward pressure on battery costs.
Maybe I will just wait for battery prices to drop before I make the shift.
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