Vehicle sales slip 6%, but xEVs zoom in September

MANILA, Philippines — Vehicle sales declined by six percent in September, but electrified vehicles (xEVs) continued to move against the current as sales quadrupled year-on-year.

A joint report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that their combined sales declined to 35,722 units in September from 37,915 units in the same month last year.

However, CAMPI and TMA’s September sales rose by 21 percent compared to the 29,612 units sold in August.

Both the passenger car (PC) and commercial vehicle (CV) segments declined year-on-year in September.

In particular, PC sales dipped by two percent to 7,799 units in from 7,948 units, while CV sales slid by seven percent to 27,923 units from 30,081 units.

As for xEVs, total sales quadrupled to 8,959 units in September from 2,237 units in the same month a year ago. The figure does not include BYD vehicles.

Leading the charge within the xEV segment was hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), with sales surging by 123 percent year-on-year to 3,933 units in September.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for the second biggest share with 3,075 units sold in September, increasing by 711 percent year-on-year.

Plug-in HEV (PHEV) sales jumped by 1,976 percent year-on-year to 1,951 units in September.

Including sales of non-CAMPI and TMA members, the country’s total vehicle sales surpassed 40,240 units in September, making it the third-highest monthly sales performance of the year.

From January to September, CAMPI and TMA’s sales declined by 10 percent to 307,060 units from 341,753 units in the same period last year.

PC sales went down by nine percent to 62,829 units as of end-September from the previous year’s 69,306 units.

Likewise, the CV segment posted an 11-percent drop to 244,231 units in the nine-month period from 274,104 units a year ago.

Sales of the xEV segment from January to September period zoomed by 163 percent to 54,372 units from 20,676 units last year.

HEV sales reached 27,694 units in the nine-month period, 69 percent higher than the 16,349 units sold in the same period of 2025.

BEV sales jumped by 338 percent to 16,006 units, while PHEV sales surged by 1,493 percent to 10,672 units.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the leading automotive firm with a 49.32-percent share from January to September.

This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with a 16.32-percent share and Suzuki Philippines Inc. with a 4.48-percent share.

Completing the top five are Ford Motor Co. Philippines Inc. with 3.49 percent and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 3.29 percent.

“Based on annual sales trends heading into the final months of the year, we believe the industry is well-positioned to sustain its momentum and deliver a strong overall performance in 2026,” CAMPI president Jose Maria Atienza said.

Last year, total vehicle sales hit a record-high of 491,395 units.