Toyota seen to maintain market-leading position in PH 

The Philippine unit of automotive giant Toyota is looking to sell more than 200,000 vehicle units this year, signaling continued optimism from the country’s leading brand.

This is seen to replicate, if not surpass, total sales output last year. The company sold 200,031 vehicle units and ended the year with a 46.54 percent market share in 2023, according to industry data.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. president Masando Hashimoto said that cooling inflation and strong remittances from overseas Filipino workers, along with the rate cut from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, would help them achieve their target sales volume.

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“All the good news is supporting the industry as a whole,” Hashimoto told reporters on the sidelines of the 9th Philippine International Motor Show.

From January to September, Toyota Motor Philippines sold 159,088 vehicle units, retaining a leading market share of 46.62 percent, based on data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association.

“In the case of Toyota, 60 percent to 70 percent of the customers are choosing to finance [their purchases],” Hashimoto said, when asked if Filipinos are buying in cash or through loans.

Meanwhile, Hashimoto projected that sales volume would reach 476,000 for the full year.

Last year, 429,807 units of new vehicles were sold in the Philippines.

Sales volume stood at 352,596 units in 2022, 268,488 in 2021, 223,793 in 2020 and 369,941 units in 2019.

Campi president Rommel Gutierrez estimated that vehicle sales would easily grow by 10 percent in 2025. INQ