With a current market share of 46%, will Toyota gain 50% with the new Tamaraw?

It's amazing when you consider that when the Chinese car brands started entering the Philippine market in 2018—an onslaught that continues today and has since decimated the market shares of almost every automotive brand in the country—Toyota's market share actually went up from 39.5 percent at the end of 2019 to the current 46.7 percent.

- MANNY N. DE LOS REYES

The shift in numbers seems to underscore the glaring division between consumers eager to enjoy the abundance of features and relatively low prices offered by the newcomers and those who, in turn, embrace the proven reliability of what is one of the most trusted brands in the world.

At last Friday's annual media thanksgiving hosted by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) at Grand Hyatt Manila, TMP Chairman Alfred Ty shared the industry's projections of 512,000 units to be sold this year, up from the 476,252 units sold in 2024.

The 2025 total sales projection amounts to average sales of 42,666 units a month for all car brands combined. For Toyota to own 50 percent market share, they will have to sell 21,333 vehicles a month. Based on 2024 total sales and its 46.7 percent market share, TMP sold an average of 18,144 vehicles a month. That means they will need to sell 3,189 more cars per month this year compared to last year.

Toyota officials have projected average Tamaraw sales this year to be 1,500 to 1,800 units per month. Of course, one can't just tack on these numbers to last year's monthly average, as the Tamaraw could conceivably cannibalize sales of the entry-level Hilux pickup and, more to the point, the Liteace commercial vehicle.