Consolidated sales of Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), Philippine Auto Dealers Association (PADA) members, and non-affiliated sources totaled 34,426 vehicles in August 2026, as the monsoon season wreaked havoc in many parts of Luzon and the "Ghost Month Phenomenon" affected auto sales.

While the CAMPI and TMA joint report represented an 18.1% year-on-year decline, this value is not representative of the market total as new CAMPI members have joined the 2026 count and BYD which represents over 9% of the total market, is quite a significant input that we can no longer overlook. Further, the month-on-month change was reported at a 20.7% decline without a July tally of BYD, which logged a market share of 13.65%; we can only therefore use these percentages as guidelines and not hard percentage data.

The Top 10 performing mainstream brands for August 2026 are: Toyota (14,505 units), BYD (4,682 units), Mitsubishi Motors (3,570 units), Suzuki (1,350 units), Honda (1,097 units), Ford (930 units), MG (912 units), Omoda & Jaecoo (902 units), Geely (810 units), and Nissan (771 units). It is interesting that four Chinese automakers make up this list, reflecting growing acceptance of Chinese cars among Filipino motorists. BYD may have waited for this timely jump to second position in August to finally release their sales figure, earlier than their expected year-end release as in previous years.

In the Premium Category, a surprise entry into the top 3 (now that we have data) is Denza, which has catapulted itself into the top, ahead of BMW and Lexus. It's interesting to see Mercedes-Benz lose its status as a perennial top-3 performer in this segment and be knocked out of contention by newcomer Denza. Based on our estimates, Denza sold 108 units in August. Interestingly, Mercedes-Benz saw a 24.7% sales decline year-on-year, while BMW grew by a strong 23.8% in the same period. In August alone, BMW sold 100 cars, while Mercedes-Benz only sold 38 cars. Newly minted Mercedes-Benz Philippines brand head and seasoned automotive executive Jun Cajayon will have to inch his way through this as he runs into the last quarter of the year with stiff competition.

Despite macroeconomic factors such as inflation, interest rates, and rising fuel costs, industry leaders are still optimistic about their outlook for the market as the last quarter car-buying season approaches.

“We're still optimistic that vehicle sales will bounce back over the next few months through year-end. The August dip appears to be a short-term disruption rather than a reversal of market momentum,” said CAMPI president Jose Maria Atienza.

Electric vehicle adoption has taken a monumental pivot this year, with the Middle East fuel crisis still in play, bringing about high fuel costs. CAMPI has recorded a 146.2% increase compared to January to August 2025, while BYD says its sales for the same period have nearly doubled, with a 99% increase.

“The continued growth in xEV adoption highlights the strong potential of the market,” Atienza added.

From January to August of 2026, the Top 5 BEV brands so far are BYD (5,844 units), VinFast (4,552 units), Tesla (2,872 units), Omoda & Jaecoo (1,844 units), and Geely (1,542 units). For PHEVs, BYD dominated the segment with 22,555 units sold over Jetour (2,857 units), Geely (1,745 units), MG (1,071 units), and Chery (1,007 units). For HEVs, Toyota commands the top spot with 14,819 units, ahead of Ford (3,411 units), Honda (1,180 units), Omoda & Jaecoo (1,170 units), and MG (1,059 units).