Philippines First Half 2018: Vios back on top, first market fall in 9 years

The Toyota Vios reclaims leadership of the Filipino market in 2018.

* See the Top 25 best-selling brands and Top 10 models by clicking on the title *

Putting an abrupt end to 8 consecutive years of annual records, New vehicle sales in the Philippines are down a tough 12% year-on-year over the First Half of 2018 at 191.485 registrations, according to distributor groups AVID (Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors), CAMPI (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines) and TMA (Truck Manufacturers Association). There are a few reasons behind this sudden decline. A new Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN) signed in late 2017 has reduced personal income taxes but levied additional taxes on selected vehicles, which significantly and adversely affected auto prices. The result in market was immediate, even if TRAIN lowered levies on hybrid vehicles and exempted pickups, trucks and electric vehicles, which account for a small percentage of sales in the country.

The Mitsubishi Montero Sport is up 4 spots to #2 overall and #1 SUV.

Toyota continues to dominate the Filipino market head and shoulders, seeing its share only slightly decrease from 38.5% in FY2017 to 38% so far this year. Mitsubishi is the only other carmaker managing a double-digit market share in the Philippines, soaring from 15% to 17.5% on the back of a very successful introduction of the all-new Xpander, outselling the all-new Toyota Rush just as the Mitsubishi Adventure is discontinued after 21 years of loyal services to the local population. Hyundai (8.3%) also improves in third place while Nissan steps up 3 spots on FY2017 to land in 4th position, overtaking Ford and Honda while Suzuki passes Isuzu down 2 to #8. Only 64 sales below Chevrolet (#9), Foton (1.2%) breaks into the Filipino Top 10 over the period, becoming the very first Chinese carmaker to manage this feat here. Volkswagen (#15) has started the import of China-made models such as the Lamando, Tiguan and Santana while Mercedes now outsells BMW as the #1 premium brand in the country.

Foton breaks into the Top 10 brands for the first time in the Philippines.

Over in the models ranking, the Toyota Vios reclaims the lead it held for 9 consecutive years before the Fortuner snapped its first victory last year. The Mitsubishi Montero Sport rallies back up four spots to an outstanding (and world-best) 2nd place overall, reclaiming the title of #1 SUV in the Philippines. The Toyota Wigo, also up four ranks, rounds up the podium ahead of the Toyota Fortuner (-3) and the Mitsubishi L300 up 6 spots to #5. The Hyundai Accent gains one rank to #7 whereas the Toyota Innova (-5), Mitsubishi Mirage (-4) and Toyota Hiace (-2) all slide down the ranking. Finally, notice the Nissan Navara more than doubling its market share vs. FY2017 from 1.6% to 3.5% to snag the #1 pickup title off the Toyota Hilux.

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Full Q1 2018 Top 8 brands, H1 2018 Top 25 brands and Top 10 models below.