Philippine EV Industry Hopes to Top 20% Market Share in 2026
Key Takeaways
- •EVs reached 17.7% of Philippine automotive sales through October, leaving the segment roughly two percentage points short of EVAP's 20% market-share goal for 2026.
- •EV sales grew 163% to 54,372 units in the first 10 months of the year even as total vehicle sales dropped 10.2% to 307,060 units.
- •EVAP expects a fresh inventory buildup in the final three months of the year to support sales, but logistics problems reported by summit exhibitors could delay deliveries and dampen the year-end tally.
- •The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 5.5% while the peso hit a record low of P63.52 per dollar, conditions that threaten vehicle sales growth through financing and affordability.
- •The Department of Energy projects EVs will account for 50% of the national transport fleet by 2040, a longer-term benchmark beyond the current sales-share targets.
MANILA — The Philippines' electric vehicle (EV) industry is counting on oil price volatility, which is dampening consumer interest in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, to push its market share beyond an optimistic 20% target for 2026, according to the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP).
"I would love for it to go over 20%," EVAP President Willie Tee Ten told reporters on the sidelines of the 14th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS) on Thursday. He observed that EV sales growth has remained steady even as sales of ICE models decline.
Sales data support that momentum. Figures from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) showed EVs accounted for 17.7% of automotive sales at the end of October. While total vehicle sales dropped 10.2% to 307,060 units during the first 10 months of the year, the EV segment on its own grew 163% to 54,372 units over the same period. That leaves the segment about two percentage points short of the 20% goal with two months of the year remaining — expanding even as the total market contracts.
Mr. Tee Ten recalled that when the Middle East war broke out early this year, EV inventories could not keep pace with the surge in demand. For the three months to December, he expects a fresh buildup of EV inventory to help drive sales, although logistics snags — based on feedback from PEVS exhibitors — threaten to delay deliveries and undermine that outlook. Whether those shipments arrive on schedule will help decide the year-end tally.
He added that the weaker peso and higher interest rates continue to threaten vehicle sales growth. On Thursday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 5.5%, the highest level in nearly two years, to address inflationary risks. The peso closed at a new record low of P63.52 against the dollar as geopolitical headwinds continued to weigh on the currency. Together, they shape the financing and affordability conditions under which the industry's year-end push will play out.
Against this backdrop, Mr. Tee Ten said EV adoption is increasingly becoming mainstream as motorists respond to unpredictable pump prices.
"This is not just an energy issue — this is an economic and national security issue," he noted. "This precisely why we push electric vehicles, which are no longer an alternative, but an imperative."
He also said the multiple EV entrants in the Philippine market will offer consumers greater choice while introducing an element of competition in EV pricing.
Looking further ahead, the Department of Energy is projecting a 50% EV share in the national transport fleet by 2040 — a fleet-wide benchmark that extends beyond the sales-share targets driving this year's push.
Originally reported by Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter, for BusinessWorld: Source: BusinessWorld
