BIZ BUZZ: Iran war a boon and bane for Toyota
The war in the Middle East may be making electric vehicles (EVs) more attractive—pump prices are surging past P100 per liter for diesel, with little sign of easing soon—but Toyota is not exactly popping champagne.
For the country’s top EV seller, higher fuel prices could lift demand for hybrids and other EVs, but the same conflict could also disrupt the logistics and supply chain needed to bring in more models.
“Even before the war, there are plans for models to come in,” Toyota Motor Philippines chair Alfred Ty told reporters on Tuesday. “As long as it doesn’t get disrupted. We haven’t seen how the war will disrupt logistics and supply.”
That has left the Philippine unit and Toyota’s headquarters in Japan watching developments in the Middle East day by day, as the company seeks to protect its market-leading position in the country.
Toyota and Lexus sold a combined 19,516 electrified units in the Philippines in 2025, up 38.8 percent from 14,057 in 2024.
As of February, Toyota Motor Philippines was also the country’s top EV brand, selling 3,012 hybrid units in the first two months of the year. Other segment leaders, such as Jetour Auto Philippines Inc. in plug-in hybrids and Tesla Motors Philippines Inc. in battery electric vehicles, sold fewer than 250 units each over the same period.
Ty said Toyota is staying the course on electrification, although it is not walking away from conventional models just yet.
“We’re really towards electrification,” he said. “But of course, you have your diesel models, especially for province access.”
As for whether Toyota will double down by manufacturing EVs locally, Ty said the answer still comes down to economics.
“It’s a question of scale,” he said. “You need the scale, the volume level, in order for manufacturing to make sense.”
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