Philippine vehicle sales rose 3% in February
The market last month came up against strong year-earlier volumes, when sales rose by 23% year-on-year, and was supported by strong sales for commercial vehicles - which rose by 9% year-on-year to 31,010 units while passenger vehicle volumes fell by 15% to 8,154 units.
The Philippine vehicle market has continued to grow so far this year, after rebounding strongly in the last three years from the pandemic lows – supported by stable economic growth in the country. GDP grew by 5.6% last year, driven by strong domestic consumption and exports. The central bank has cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points three times since last August, to 5.75%, and further cuts are expected this year to support domestic consumption.
Vehicle sales in the first two months of the year rose by 6.4% to 76,768 units from 72,132 units in the same period of last year, with commercial vehicle sales rising by almost 13% to 60,885 units while passenger vehicle sales fell by 12% to 15,883 units.
The associations' data shows that a total of 3,416 electrified vehicles were sold year-to-date, including 3,034 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), 335 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 47 plug-in hybrids. Last year the government added hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to its EO12 zero-tariff programme, which was previously available only for zero-emission vehicles such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), until 2028.
Toyota reported an 11% sales increase to 36,606 units year-to-date, helped by the recent launch of the new entry-level Hilux Tamaraw; followed by Mitsubishi Motors with 15,548 units (+17%); Nissan 4,442 units (-14%); Suzuki 3,558 units (+21%); and Ford 3,334 units (-36%).
CAMPI last month said it expects the total vehicle market to exceed 500,000 units this year, up from 467,252 units in 2024, driven by 'newly rolled out models and the anticipated introduction of new models', while Toyota is forecasting total industry volumes of 512,000 units.
The Philippine government plans to introduce new incentives this year to encourage more local vehicle manufacturing in the country, under its 'Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement' (RACE) programme. RACE will look to channel market incentives mainly to local producers to encourage investment.
"Philippine vehicle sales rose 3% in February" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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