2025: WHEN THE XPANDER OUTSOLD THE VIOS
2025 marks the year when two big surprises shook the local auto industry.
First big surprise: BYD, the Chinese electric vehicles manufacturer, scored an awesome 446.5% increase in sales (26,122) compared to 2024 (4,780), thus capturing the no. 3 slot in the top 10 sales performers list (see chart)
Second big surprise: The Mitsubishi Xpander outsold the Toyota Vios, thereby becoming the Philippines’ best-selling motor vehicle across all brands and segments. The Vios had held this title for at least six consecutive years.
Year-to-date (YTD) December 2025, according to the sales reports of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Philippine Automotive Dealers Association (PADA), Mitsubishi Motors PH Corp. (MMPC) sold 28,081 units of the Xpander while Toyota Motor PH Corp. (TMP) sold 27,811 units of the Vios.
TMP AND MMPC
One might say that this is like comparing the sales of apples and oranges, since the Xpander is a compact 7-seater multipurpose vehicle, while the Vios is a 5-seater subcompact passenger car.
Would it have been fairer to compare the sales figures of the Xpander to those of the Toyota Avanza, which is also a 7-seater MPV? But while the Avanza was TMP’s second best-selling vehicle last year with 24,704 units sold that is still 3,377 units less than the Xpander’s.
On the other hand, the Vios outsold its main rival in the subcompact passenger car category, the Mitsubishi Mirage G4, by an impressive 9,854 units. MMPC sold 17,757 units of the Mirage G4 in 2025.
What’s more, Toyota is still the undisputed No. 1 brand market-wise, retaining 46.7 % market share while Mitsubishi is a distant runner-up with 18.0% market share. Still, Mitsubishi is way ahead of the no. 3 brand in market share, Suzuki’s 4.5%.
REVELATIONS
The top 10 sales performers’ list reveals the following:
The Hilux, TMP’s third best-selling model, still dominates the pickup truck market with 23,735 units sold versus 9,658 units of the Ford Ranger, 8,057 units of the Nissan Navara and 4,355 units of the Isuzu D-Max (see chart)
The Ranger was Ford Motor Co. PH, Inc.’s no. 1 best seller, ditto the Navara for Nissan PH, Inc. The D-Max was Isuzu PH Corp.’s no. 2 best-selling model after the Traviz light utility vehicle.
Among the top 10 sales performers, only three registered positive variances year-on-year: Toyota, Suzuki and Honda. Suzuki posted the highest positive variance with + 7.9%, Toyota was second with +5.2% and Honda, third with +4.8%.
Among the negatives, Nissan was highest with – 23.2% variance, Ford was second with -22.2% and Hyundai was third with -12.9% variance.
In terms of sales performance Suzuki would have moved up from No. 4 YTD October 2025 to No. 3 had BYD (not a CAMPI member) not intruded into the top 10 sales performers list. Suzuki can be consoled by its achieving No. 3 in market share after Toyota and Mitsubishi.
SUMMING UP
CAMPI in its press release pointed out that the modest 3.7% growth to 491,395 units in total vehicle sales in 2025 versus 473,842 units in 2024 was due to the challenging market environment in the second half of last year, caused, among others, by the reimposition of an excise tax on pickup trucks and natural calamities across the country.
Fortunately, sales improved last December to 47,371 units — a sign that the auto industry will finally hit its half-a-million sales target, or even exceed it, this 2026.
