New vehicle sales in the Philippines declined by a further 10% to 36,104 units in March 2026 from 40,306 units in the same month last year, according to members’ wholesale data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).
This was the third consecutive monthly decline for the vehicle market, following a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the country in the second half of last year. The latest economic data show that the country’s GDP growth slowed to 3.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 3.9% growth in the third quarter and 5.5% in the second quarter, making it the slowest rate of growth since 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Consumer spending growth moderated to 3.8% from 4.1%, while government spending growth slowed to 3.7% from 5.8%, and fixed investment shrank by 7.2% following growth of just 0.5% previously. The central bank has cut its benchmark interest rate to 4.25% in the last two years, from a peak of 6.5% in mid-2024, to support domestic consumption growth. More recently, rising fuel prices due to the US-Iran conflict have also negatively affected consumer spending in the country.
In the first three months of 2026, the Philippine vehicle market was down by almost 10% to 105,642 units from 117,074 units in the same period last year, with sales of passenger cars falling by 17% to 20,151 units, while commercial vehicle sales declined by 8% to 85,491 units.
The associations’ data show that sales of electrified vehicles increased by 36% to 11,800 units year-to-date, including a 10% rise in hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) sales to 8,261 units, while sales of plug-in hybrids surged by 400% to 1,250 units, and sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased by 123% to 2,289 units. Vietnamese automaker VinFast accounted for more than half of BEV sales, with 1,171 deliveries.
The overall market leader, Toyota, reported a 6.5% sales decline to 51,922 units year-to-date, followed by Mitsubishi with 20,600 units (-12%); Suzuki 4,950 units (-9%); Nissan 4,634 units (-31%); and Honda 3,968 units (-5%).
GlobalData expects the Philippine light vehicle market to increase by less than 2% to 496,000 units in 2026, after growing by almost 4% to 489,000 units in 2025, with sales forecast to increase by a further 4% to 521,000 units in 2027, as consumers continue to respond to the reduced interest rates.
