BYD Cars Philippines anticipates that electric vehicle (EV) sales will remain robust through the remainder of the year, pointing to the Marcos administration's continued support for broader EV adoption across the country.

"In the SONA (State of the Nation Address), the President was actually encouraging the [EV] market. So, that's positive feedback for us who's in the EV space," BYD Cars Philippines Managing Director Bob Palanca told reporters during an event on Tuesday.

In his State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. reaffirmed the government's commitment to accelerating EV adoption.

"This clean and green policy is two-pronged: it shall also spur growth of our domestic local industries across the EV value chain, specifically those involved in the vehicle assembly and manufacturing of batteries and related spare parts," the President said.

The administration's stance builds on the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), signed into law in 2022, which established a national framework for EV commercialization, and Executive Order No. 12, which reduced most-favored-nation tariff rates on completely built-up EVs to 0% through 2028, aiming to make electrified models more price-competitive in a market long dominated by conventional internal combustion vehicles.

Mr. Palanca noted that the company maintains sufficient inventory to accommodate increasing demand in the Philippine EV market. "BYD has the units. All the customers have to do is decide on what car they will get," he said.

Also on Tuesday, BYD Cars Philippines launched two new models: the BYD Atto 2 and the BYD Seal 5 DM-i.

The BYD Atto 2 is available as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) and as a Super DM-i plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), with the PHEV offered in Premium and Dynamic trims. The BEV variant delivers a driving range of up to 380 kilometers (km) on a single charge. The DM-i Dynamic and DM-i Premium variants offer an electric-only range of up to 45 km and a combined driving range of up to 1,340 km.

Suggested retail pricing for the BYD Atto 2 is set at P1.34 million for the BEV variant, P1.26 million for the DM-i Premium, and P1.05 million for the DM-i Dynamic.

The BYD Seal 5 DM-i is offered in Essential and Dynamic variants. The Essential variant provides an electric-only range of up to 55 km using a 7.42-kilowatt-hour (kWh) Blade Battery, while the Dynamic variant extends that electric-only range to 115 km with an 18.3-kWh Blade Battery. The Essential variant is priced at P948,000, and the Dynamic variant at P1.05 million.

The introduction of plug-in hybrid variants reflects a broader industry pattern in Southeast Asia, where limited public charging networks make PHEVs a practical bridge technology for buyers concerned about range. The Philippines currently has a fraction of the public charging infrastructure found in more mature EV markets such as Thailand, though both government and private operators have outlined expansion plans.

Philippine EV sales surged 132.7% to 31,381 units in the first half of the year, up from 13,488 units recorded during the same period in 2025.

BYD, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is the world's largest seller of new energy vehicles by volume, and its Philippine expansion comes as Chinese automakers intensify competition across Southeast Asia, challenging Japanese brands that have historically dominated the region's passenger car market.

ACMobility Holdings, Inc., led by Ayala Corp., serves as the official distributor of BYD vehicles in the Philippines.

"The company's growing lineup of EVs are expected to help make the Philippines' shift to electrified transport easier," said ACMobility Chief Executive Officer Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala.

— Beatriz Marie D. Cruz