The Philippine motorcycle market remained resilient in 2025 despite macroeconomic headwinds, with sales rising 2.8% to 2.37 million units, supported by strong underlying demand and limited exposure so far to the economic slowdown.
Economic Outlook
The IMF has revised downward its growth projections for the Philippine economy for the period 2025–2027, while still expecting growth to rebound to around 6% by 2028. The downgrade reflects a lower 2025 growth forecast—cut from 5.4% to 5.1%—and a slower pace of capital accumulation.
Economic momentum was further undermined by corruption scandals that placed government spending under intense scrutiny, leading to a sharp pullback in public investment. This was evident in weaker public capital expenditure, reduced construction activity, and deteriorating private-sector sentiment.
Trade policy uncertainty also weighed on investment decisions. Although the Philippines initially appeared to benefit from a relatively lower 17% tariff rate announced on Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” this advantage was erased in July 2025, when tariffs were raised to 19%, aligning the country with the rest of ASEAN.
Despite these headwinds, multilateral institutions expect a recovery to take hold. While the rebound is likely to be moderate, it should be sufficient to meet the government’s recently lowered growth target, supported by stabilising investment conditions and a gradual resumption of public works.
Motorcycle Industry: Trends and Outlook
The impact of the broader economic slowdown has so far had limited effect on the Philippine two-wheeler market, which is the fifth-largest in the world and among those with the most attractive long-term growth potential.
Driven by rapid urbanisation and strong underlying demand, the market expanded sharply over the past decade to exceed 2 million annual units. Although the Covid-19 crisis caused a temporary disruption, demand rebounded quickly in 2021, and the market has since stabilised at around 2.3 million units, with further growth potential.
In 2025, sales increased to 2.37 million units, up 2.8% year on year, and a further +0.7% increase is expected in the current year.
In contrast, the electric two-wheeler segment continues to underperform expectations. While still marginal in absolute terms, EV sales saw initial growth following the entry of several Chinese OEMs. However, the absence of meaningful government support has prevented the creation of sustainable demand, particularly in a market where value for money is the primary purchase driver and EVs remain significantly more expensive than ICE alternatives.
Market Leaders and Performance
In the competitive landscape, Honda remains the dominant force and is on track to surpass the milestone of 1 million annual sales, with first-quarter data showing robust growth of +15.7%.
Yamaha holds second place, posting solid growth of +10.4%, though with a wide gap versus competitors further down the ranking.
By contrast, Rusi struggled in third place (-16.4%), followed by Suzuki (-10.6%) in fourth and Kawasaki (-10.7%) in fifth, highlighting increasing pressure on second-tier players in a market increasingly concentrated around the leading brands.
