Pain at the pump sends Philippine car buyers rushing to EVs, hybrids

MANILA – Higher petrol prices are driving a surge in demand for electric vehicles in the Philippines, government and industry officials say, with registrations more than doubling in 2026 and accounting for nearly a quarter of passenger car sales.The cost of petrol has jumped 68.3% in the Philippines since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, the fourth-steepest price spike globally, data from globalpetrolprices.com show.That has had a particularly acute impact in a country that imports nearly all its fuel, has limited public transport and does not provide fuel subsidies.Registrations of electric vehicles, including hybrids, surged 130% annually to more than 67,000 during the eight months through August, said Patrick Aquino, director of the energy ministry’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau.“Demand was through the roof. So you had to place an order, make a deposit and wait for your units to arrive,” said Aquino.China’s BYD delivered 28,399 units in the eight months through to August, 99% higher than the same period in 2025, Bob Palanca, managing director of BYD Cars Philippines, said.“We’ve already surpassed our entire 2025 sales total, four months ahead of target. We fully expect this momentum to carry through the rest of 2026 and well into 2027,” Palanca said.EVs made up nearly a quarter of car sales in the Philippines in 2026, according to Carla Buencamino, head of mobility infrastructure at ACMobility, which operates the country’s largest EV charging network.That compared with 12% in 2025 and 4% in 2024, Buencamino added, citing his company’s internal calculations.The government has been encouraging the move to electric. The authorities want EVs to account for half the nation’s taxi fleet and cars used by government officials by 2030, Aquino said.The energy ministry is also pushing to keep EV imports duty-free beyond a planned expiry of the exemption in 2028, he added.One weaker spot has been sales of electric models of the Philippines’ ubiquitous motorcycles, which have been rising more slowly, Aquino saidThe persistence of traditional bikes – and the country’s “jeepney” – has underpinned overall demand for petrol, despite the impact of the Iran war, Aquino added.That would change as makers cut prices, he said.“The notion is that it (the electric motorbike) is expensive. Companies like VinFast coming in at a price point at less than 100,000 Philippine pesos (S$2,000) will make it a more viable option,” he said. REUTERS