The Philippine automotive industry took a huge hit in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 457,110 vehicles sold in 2019, the total dropped to a dismal 244,274 the following year.
Now that 2021 has concluded, though, we have reasons to remain optimistic about the industry’s recovery.
The reports from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) are in, and these show that the industry posted significant year-on-year growth with a total of 292,842 units sold n 2021. While it’s still far from the pre-pandemic totals, that’s still good for an increase of around 50,000 cars.
To no surprise, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) remains on top with 129,667 units sold, accounting for nearly half of the industry total. The figure also marks a sales increase of more than 20,000 from the year prior.
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines (MMPC) retains the second spot in 2021 with 37,548 vehicles sold, a slight increase from 37,336 total from 2020. Ford is one of the biggest gainers in 2021, having finsihed the year with 20,005 total vehicles sold. It moves three spots up to third.
Nissan Philippines (NPI) ended up a rank lower last year in fourth with 19,603 units sold. Suzuki Philippines (SPH) also drops a spot down finishing the year in fifth, but it increased its tally from 15,515 in 2020 to 19,393 in 2021. Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) and Honda Cars Philippines (HCPI) follow with 14,424 and 12,680 units sold, respectively.
For a more detailed look at all the numbers, you can check out the breakdown in the table below.
Total vehicles sold in PH in 2021: Per-brand breakdown
| Brand | Official distributor | 2021 sales |
| Toyota | Toyota Motor Philippines | 129,667 |
| Mitsubishi | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines | 37,548 |
| Ford | Ford Motor Company Philippines | 20,005 |
| Nissan | Nissan Philippines | 19,603 |
| Suzuki | Suzuki Philippines | 19,393 |
| Isuzu | Isuzu Philippines Corporation | 14,424 |
| Honda | Honda Cars Philippines | 12,680 |
| Hyundai | Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. | 9,061 |
| MG | The Covenant Car Company | 6,343 |
| Geely | Sojitz G Auto Philippines | 6,104 |
| Kia | KP Motors Corporation | 3,748 |
| Foton | Foton Motor Philippines | 2,867 |
| Hino | Hino Motors Philippines | 2,729 |
| Mazda | Bermaz Auto Philippines | 1,448 |
| Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram |
Auto Nation Group | 1,311 |
| Fuso | Sojitz Fuso Philippines | 888 |
| BMW | SMC Asia Car Distributors | 861 |
| Chevrolet | The Covenant Car Company | 826 |
| Subaru | Motor Image Pilipinas | 820 |
| Volkswagen | Automobile Central Enterprise | 441 |
| Jaguar Land Rover | Coventry Motors Corporation | 274 |
| GAC | Legado Motors | 227 |
| Peugeot | Eurobrands Distributor | 161 |
| Lotus, Mini | British United Automobiles | 153 |
| Kaicene | Berjaya Auto Asia | 140 |
| Tata | Pilipinas TAJ Auto Group | 132 |
| SsangYong | SsangYong Berjaya Motor Philippines | 110 |
| JAC | Treisenburg Auto Corporation | 100 |
| BAIC | Universal Motors Corporation | 33 |
| MAN | MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corporation | 24 |
| Others | Others | 721 |
| Total | 292,842 |
“Looking back at last year’s performance, the automotive industry has remained remarkably resilient with an overall growth of 20% compared with the same performance a year ago—that is no small feat indeed,” said CAMPI president Atty. Rommel Gutierrez. “The industry remains optimistic for a continued recovery this year from the COVID-19 pandemic downturn as progress on inoculation has provided hopes for a better outlook for the wider economy, but ‘business as usual’ is still unlikely as challenges remain at hand.”
“You cannot downplay the importance of mobility in the reopening of the economy, gradual though it may be,” said AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo. “With unwavering confidence in the market and in the quality of our product and service offerings, AVID members are determined to build on these gains and look forward to an even better normal in 2022.”
What are your predictions for 2022? Do you think we’ll continue to see this figure grow this year?
