Gas-powered car sales slow as buyers shift to e-vehicles

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April 21, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Vehicle sales in the country slid by 10 percent in the first quarter, but electrified vehicle sales charged ahead and rose by 36 percent, driven by rising fuel prices caused by the Middle East conflict.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that their combined sales reached 105,642 units from January to March, down from 117,074 units in the same quarter last year.

Passenger car sales dropped by 17 percent to 20,151 units in the first quarter from 24,332 units in the same period last year.

Commercial vehicle sales from January to March also declined by eight percent to 85,491 units from 92,742 units in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, electrified vehicles bucked the trend, with sales rising by 36 percent to 11,800 units in the first quarter from 8,664 units in the same period in 2025. This does not include sales of BYD Cars Philippines, a non-CAMPI member.

All three segments of electrified vehicles registered higher sales in the first quarter.

In particular, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) sales as of end-March went up by 10 percent to 8,261 units from 7,515 units in the same period last year.

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales jumped by 123 percent to 2,289 units in the first quarter from 1,027 units in the same period in 2025.

Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) surged by 925 percent to 1,250 units as of end-March from just 122 units in the same period last year.

For the month of March alone, CAMPI and TMA’s sales declined by 10 percent to 36,104 units from 40,306 units in the same month a year ago.

Passenger car sales went down by 18 percent to 6,926 units in March from 8,449 units in the same month last year.

Commercial vehicle sales also slid by eight percent to 29,178 units in March from 31,857 units in the previous year.

Meanwhile, electrified vehicle sales in March posted a 224 percent growth to 6,148 units from 1,895 units in the same month last year, amid higher fuel prices.

HEV sales accelerated by 143 percent to 3,667 units in March from 1,510 units in the same month last year.

BEVs jumped by 401 percent to 1,787 units in March from 357 units in the same month a year ago.

PHEVs saw the largest increase at 2,379 percent, with 694 units sold in March from just 28 units in the same month last year.

While demand for electrified vehicles has been rising, CAMPI president Jose Maria Atienza believes the shift became more pronounced with the declaration of the state of national energy emergency in March.

“This continues the rising trend we have been observing the past few years. EV (electrified vehicle) adoption is mainly driven by users’ growing understanding and acceptance of electrified technologies. We expect this to grow further because of the country’s need for various energy efficient vehicles,” he said.

He said that rising oil prices are expected to influence the Filipino motorists driving and vehicle purchase behavior.

“This will not only accelerate the preference for electrified vehicles but may also highlight the practicality of energy efficient vehicles like smaller and lower displacement cars,” he said.

He said that the automotive industry will evolve based on the market’s requirement.

Among CAMPI-TMA members, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. accounted for the largest share in sales with 49.15 percent in the first quarter.

This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 19.5 percent, Suzuki Philippines Inc. with 4.69 percent, Nissan Philippines Inc. with 4.39 percent and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 3.76 percent.