New vehicle sales in the Philippines declined by 10% to 33,580 units in April 2025 from 37,314 units a year earlier, according to member wholesale data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
This was the first year-on-year decline this year, following the market’s strong three-year rebound from the pandemic lows. The Philippine economy expanded by 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, slightly better than the revised 5.3% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, underpinned by stronger domestic consumption, export growth and lower interest rates. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a further 25 basis points in April to 5.5%, down from a peak of 6.5% last year, to support domestic growth.
In the first four months of 2025 the vehicle market was still up by 2.5% at 150,654 units compared with 146,920 units in the same period last year, driven by a 10% rise in commercial vehicle sales – including SUVs – to 119,824 units while sales of passenger cars fell by over 19% to 30,830 units.
Sales of electrified vehicles amounted to 6,820 units year-to-date, including 5,744 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), 978 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 98 plug-in hybrids. Last year the government expanded its EO12 zero-tariff incentive programme, which runs until 2028, from just zero emission vehicles to also include hybrid vehicles.
Toyota reported a 6% sales increase to 71,927 units in the four-month period, helped by the recent launch of the new entry-level Hilux Tamaraw; followed by Mitsubishi Motors with 29,770 units (+7%); Nissan 8,182 units (-13%); Suzuki 7,002 units (+14%); and Ford 6,728 units (-31%).
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, suggested that the US” new import tariff policies may have hurt consumer and business confidence, affecting vehicle sales. Earlier this year CAMPI said it expected total vehicle sales in the country to exceed 500,000 units this year, up from 467,252 units in 2024.
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