BYD Cars Philippines sets sights on expanding market share this year

BYD CARS PHILIPPINES said it is targeting higher sales and additional dealership openings this year as more consumers shift to new energy vehicles, a company official said.

“We are targeting a lot (of sales). Definitely higher than last year. We will be aggressive as we would like to have a good market share as well,” said Bob Anthony Y. Palanca, managing director at BYD Cars Philippines, on the sidelines of the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) on Thursday.

Last year, the company sold 4,780 passenger vehicles, representing an 8,900% growth from 2023 and an 82% share in the new energy vehicle market.

The company also plans to expand its dealership network amid expected sales growth.

“We are already in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and we will further strengthen that position. We had 25 dealerships as of December 25, 2024, and as of the end of March, we have 33,” he said.

“We are opening more; I think almost every month we will have an opening,” he added.

Mr. Palanca said the company sees significant year-on-year growth in the sale of new energy vehicles, particularly plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), due to competitive pricing.

“The market is actually now shifting towards BEVs, not only because of sustainability, but of course, they also have benefits, such as color coding. That’s an advantage because instead of having two cars, you only need one car,” he said.

“We had customers that had two cars in the past and sold both to get one hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), because it is coding exempt, plus they get savings as they spend less on fuel,” he added.

In line with this, BYD Cars Philippines launched its all-electric eMAX 7 Standard and eMAX 7 Superior Captain, which will be sold at P1.498 million and P1.748 million, respectively.

“I believe that the industry will be driven by electrified mobility. The growth of plug-in HEV and BEV (sales) will be significant, and this will be a driver for our industry growth,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile