Philippine vehicle sales fall 10% in January

Market Overview - New vehicle sales in the Philippines declined by 10% to 33,696 units in January 2026 from 37,504 units in January 2025, indicating a slowdown after three years of strong growth [1] - The decline in January sales followed a sharp slowdown in economic growth to 3.0% year-on-year in Q4 2025, down from 3.9% in Q3 2025, marking the slowest growth rate since 2021 [2] Economic Factors - Consumer spending growth slowed to 3.8% year-on-year in Q4 2025 from 4.1% in Q3 2025, while government spending growth decreased to 3.7% from 5.8% [3] - Fixed investment shrank by 7.2% in Q4 2025, following minimal growth of 0.5% [3] - The central bank has reduced its benchmark interest rate to 4.25% over the last two years from a peak of 6.5% in mid-2024 to stimulate domestic consumption [3] Vehicle Sales Breakdown - Sales of passenger cars fell by 20% to 6,178 units, while commercial vehicle sales declined by 8% to 27,518 units, with light commercial vehicle sales down by 9% to 20,392 units and Asian utility vehicle sales down by 7% to 6,253 units [4] - Truck and bus sales amounted to 873 units [4] Electrified Vehicle Sales - Sales of electrified vehicles surged by 63% to 2,610 units in January, with hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) sales rising by 43% to 2,072 units [5] - Sales of plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were 277 and 261 units respectively [5] Market Forecast - GlobalData expects the Philippine light vehicle market to increase by 2% to 499,000 units in 2026, following a growth of almost 4% to 489,000 units in 2025, with a further forecasted increase of 4% to 521,000 units in 2027 [6]