Philippine EV sales surge 136% as fuel costs reshape car-buying decisions in 2026Last updated: September 01, 2026 | 07:134 MIN READFilipino Glenn Cuarto, a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who spent years in the UAE, charges his Tesla Model 3 at a local mall (SM City Iligan, in Mindanao). Sales of electrified vehicles — hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles — jumped 136.4% to 38,286 units. Pure battery EVs topped 300% jump in sales.
Glen Graciel Sabangan Cuarto | FBManila: The Philippine auto market is slowing, but one part of the industry is accelerating sharply: electric vehicles (EVs).Overall vehicle sales fell 10.2% year-on-year to 241,725 units in January-July 2026, according to data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).But sales of electrified vehicles — hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles — jumped 136.4% to 38,286 units. Their share of CAMPI-TMA sales more than doubled to 15.84%, from 6.02% a year earlier. Pure-EV sales quadrupled.Get it: Fast, verified news for FREE ... download the Gulf News app — simply click here Also In This PackageEV shift startsEngr. Willy Q. Tee Ten, president of the AutoHub Group of Companies, the Philippine Automotive Dealers Association and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), said the shift initially favoured hybrids and plug-in hybrids.But the sharp rise in fuel prices changed consumer behaviour.The shift is happening as the Middle East war and oil-price shock force Filipino motorists to rethink the economics of gasoline and diesel.Vehicle typeJan-July 2026 salesGrowthHybrid20,71655.9%Battery EV10,476300.3%Plug-in hybrid7,0942,363.2%All xEVs38,286136.4%Sources: CAMPI and TMA“Only this year when Donald Trump bombed Iran, when oil prices went through the roof, that's the time when our customers finally considered trying EVs or full-electric vehicles,” Ten said in an interview with Bilyonaryo news channel.The numbers back up the broader trend.From January through July, battery-EV sales jumped 300.3% to 10,476 units, while plug-in hybrids surged 2,363.2% to 7,094 units. Conventional hybrids remained the largest xEV category, with 20,716 units sold, up 55.9%.July was even more striking. Electrified vehicles accounted for 29.5% of CAMPI-TMA sales that month, up 18 percentage points from a year earlier.The fuel bill is becoming the EV sales pitch
