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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider EVs, holiday spending seen to drive last-minute auto sales surge

EVs, holiday spending seen to drive last-minute auto sales surge

Published Nov 28, 2025 06:52 pm
The local automotive industry is optimistic that vehicle sales this year would hit the lofty target of 500,000 units, which would be an all-time high, even as over 100,000 units are still left unsold with just two months left.
Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) President Rommel Gutierrez said the industry is still on track to reach 500,000 sales despite overall slower growth over the past months.
“There's still hope. There's still hope because of what we already reported in October,” Gutierrez said in a chance interview.
The latest joint report of CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that car sales declined by 0.3 percent to 383,424 units sold between January to October from last year’s 384,310 units.
“I cannot confirm yet on the 500,000, but it's possible to get all the figures by the end of December,” said Gutierrez.
While he did not elaborate on the reason for this optimism, Gutierrez indicated that the holiday season, when consumers often make big purchases, could translate into higher car sales in the last two months.
In November last year, car sales increased by nine percent to 40,898 units, while sales in December rose seven percent to 42,044 units.
Gutierrez also hinted that potential growth drivers in the last two months would be electric vehicles (EVs), particularly the hybrid models.
By the end of October, a total of 24,265 EVs were sold, accounting for market share of 6.33 percent.
Broken down, hybrid EVs were the most popular model with 19,739 units sold so far, while battery EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs sales reached 3,941 and 945, respectively.
Gutierrez noted that the automotive industry has yet to feel the impact of the corruption scandal, which was earlier cited as among the key reasons behind the economic slowdown in the third quarter.
“For now, not yet. I don't feel the political impact,” he said.
Last year, CAMPI also set a target of selling 500,000 units, but it reached only 467,252 units, a record high for the industry.
Gutierrez said the industry group would likely increase the target for next year.

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Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI)
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