In 2023 when we started tracking monthly sales results, Chinese brands accounted for around 5 percent of cars sold. At the time, the top brand from China was MG.

Although it went through a rough transition from a Philippine-based distributor (The Covenant Car Company) to a directly-run subsidiary (SAIC Motor Philippines), it managed to still move 5,679 units—around 1.2 percent of all new cars sold, or 25 percent of all Chinese brands combined.

In August of that year, a big announcement was made: ACMobility was taking over the BYD distributorship in the Philippines.

The following year, 475,094 new cars were sold (CAMPI-TMA members and independent distributors), and among them were 30,703 Chinese cars—an uptick of 1.2 percent (6.2 percent of all new cars sold). The big jump was thanks to, you guessed it, BYD, which alone moved 4,780 units.

While it wasn’t enough to land them in the Top 10 automotive brands, being 11th in its first year was certainly enough to raise eyebrows. MG also had its first full-year under SAIC Motor Philippines and as a result, moved 9,016 units. These two brands combined managed to cover 45 percent of all Chinese brands present in the Philippines.

And now, we’re at 2025. For its year-end report, CAMPI included independent distributors which was an odd decision on its own. According to them, 491,395 new vehicles were sold.

And in an act of reluctant acceptance, they realized that they couldn’t turn a blind eye to the rise of BYD, especially since BYD moved 26,122 units. That’s enough for third place in the industry just behind Toyota (229,447 units) and Mitsubishi (86,808 units) and ahead of Suzuki (21,984 units), Ford (21,784 units), and Nissan (20,571 units). Putting this into perspective, BYD alone carved out a 5.31 percent market share of all new cars sold.

But just how well are Chinese brands doing as a whole? Well, according to industry data, CAMPI-TMA members said they sold 463,646 units. Add BYD’s figure, and you still have 1,627 that are accounted for. This could very well be from independent distributors such as Geely, HARI (Chevrolet, Volvo, Hyundai Trucks & Buses), Autohub (Mini, Lotus, Zeekr), PGA Cars (Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini), and even smaller players like QSJ (DFSK, Bestune, Aito) and Li Auto.

Even if we assume that all 1,627 unaccounted sales are from non-Chinese brands, that meant 47,021 Chinese cars were sold in 2025—20,899 from CAMPI-TMA members (MG, GAC, Chery, Foton, etc.) and 26,122 from BYD. Add them together and you have 47,021 units—a 9.56 percent market share. That means that 1 out of every 10 new cars being sold in the Philippines were from China, their highest share ever.

With CAMPI-TMA reporting that 2026 is shaping up to be a flat-year in terms of growth (they’re targeting new car sales to hit anywhere between 491,000 to 500,000 units), how will the Chinese brands fare? Barring any unforeseen circumstances, expect them to carve an even larger share. Geely alone expects to move 7,000 vehicles this year and we’re pretty sure BYD will do the same, especially with at least four new vehicle launches and the introduction of its upscale Denza brand.

Industry analysts predict that eventually Chinese brands will plateau with a 20 percent market share combined in the Philippines. While this seemed impossible just three years ago, now it’s just a matter of time.

What’s going to happen? The most likely scenario that smaller players will be gobbled up or will have to be satisfied operating at the fringes. The first victims will likely be the smaller independent Chinese distributors who may not have enough volume to find the business sustainable. 

After that, it will be those in the premium mainstream segment will be hit next. No doubt, brands such as Toyota and probably even Honda and Nissan will move up price-wise. Their large variety of vehicles will help them cover their bases; it’s something that’s not possible for smaller players which will be squeezed out. Not to mention, as buyers start to prefer electrified offerings, brands that don’t offer any sort of hybrid will definitely feel the pinch moving forward.