The Philippine automotive market is at a crossroads. Japanese brands continue to dominate showrooms, electric vehicles are quietly but steadily gaining traction, and the used car segment is growing faster than many industry watchers expected. To make sense of all of it, Global Dominion Financing, Inc. (@gdfiofficial on TikTok) sat down with Thomas Mathai from Carmudi Philippines — part of the CarDekho SEA group and one of the country’s most active automotive marketplace platforms — for a candid, data-informed look at where the Philippine car market is headed.
The result is one of the more substantive automotive conversations to come out of Global Dominion’s interview series: a sharp, industry-insider read on buyer behavior, EV adoption, brand dynamics, and what it means for a platform like Carmudi to recenter itself around the needs of the Filipino car buyer.
The Japanese Dominance — and the Brand-Consciousness Behind It
The interview opens with a frank observation about one of the most enduring realities of the Philippine automotive landscape: Japanese brands have predominantly owned the market, and their hold is not simply a matter of habit. It is rooted in something deeper — brand consciousness, particularly in the used car segment.
Thomas noted that Filipino buyers, especially those shopping for pre-owned vehicles, tend to gravitate toward known and trusted nameplates. The product mix tells the story clearly: fast-moving sedans and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) from Japanese manufacturers remain the backbone of used car demand. The preference is not irrational. Repairability — the ease with which a vehicle can be maintained and serviced at an affordable cost — continues to be a decisive factor for Filipino consumers who think long-term about their purchase. And on that metric, Japanese brands, with their established dealership networks and widely available spare parts, consistently win.
This is not a niche observation. It is a structural feature of the Philippine automotive market that any buyer, seller, or financing institution needs to account for.
New Car Sales: A Significant Growth Story
Beyond the used car market, Thomas pointed to meaningful momentum in new car sales. The figure he cited was striking: significant growth was observed heading into the period around Q1 of 2026 — with all indicators pointing in a positive direction for both used car purchases and new car sales simultaneously.
“I’m talking about new car sales right,” he clarified at one point, drawing a distinction between the two segments while noting that both were moving in the same direction. The implication was clear: consumer confidence in vehicle ownership is rising across the board, not just in the more accessible pre-owned category. For a market that has historically been dominated by aspirational buyers stretching toward their first vehicle, the data suggesting simultaneous growth in both segments points to a maturing, increasingly multi-tiered market.
EVs: Trend or Permanent Shift?
Perhaps the most consequential part of the interview was the discussion around electric vehicles. The interviewer pressed Thomas on a question that everyone in the automotive space is quietly wrestling with: Is EV adoption in the Philippines a genuine structural shift, or is it just a trend?
His answer was measured but clear. “All indicators seem… it’s here to stay, I think there is.” The qualified language was deliberate — no one in the Philippine automotive industry can claim certainty about the EV trajectory — but the direction of his thinking was unmistakable. Demand for electric vehicles is real and growing, and dealers and platforms alike are beginning to respond. Carmudi, he noted, is in the process of integrating EVs into its inventory considerations, with dealers already stocking electric vehicles to meet what they see as increasing demand.
The EV discussion is inseparable from the broader policy environment. The Philippines has made gestures toward electrification through various government initiatives, and the global shift away from internal combustion engines is applying pressure from the supply side as well. The interview didn’t dwell on policy specifics, but the underlying message was that the EV question is no longer theoretical for Philippine dealers — it is operational.
Carmudi’s Core Mantra: Recentering Around the Buyer
Amid the market data and trend analysis, the most revealing moment in the interview came when the conversation turned to Carmudi’s own philosophy and direction. Thomas offered a grounding principle that cuts through the noise of market volatility: “Our core mantra was always where we recenter” — returning, always, to what the buyer actually needs.
That recentering, he explained, can manifest in many ways. It might mean improving how buyers discover and evaluate vehicles through the platform. It might mean giving dealers tools to better match inventory to genuine demand. It might mean helping bridge the information gap that has historically made used car purchases feel risky to Filipino consumers. Whatever form it takes, the commitment is to the buyer’s experience as the organizing principle of everything Carmudi does.
This is not a trivial point in an industry where platforms often tilt toward serving the supply side — the dealers and sellers — at the expense of the people actually shopping. Carmudi’s articulation of buyer-centricity as a structural philosophy, rather than a marketing slogan, is worth noting.
A Market That Is Playing It Fairly
One phrase from the interview that lingered was the observation that market players “are playing it fairly.” In context, it referred to the competitive landscape among automotive brands and platforms — a landscape that, despite the clear dominance of certain Japanese manufacturers, is not a closed game. New entrants, EV brands, and digital-first platforms are finding space to compete, and the rules are not being written to exclude them.
For a sector as large and economically significant as automotive, that kind of competitive openness matters. It means that buyers have genuine choices, that innovation is possible, and that the market rewards platforms and brands that actually serve their customers well.
What This Means for Automotive Financing
The interview was produced by Global Dominion Financing, Inc. — a company whose core business includes vehicle financing — and the resonances between Carmudi’s market read and Global Dominion’s own borrower data are striking. Global Dominion’s portfolio shows that vehicle financing, particularly for used cars, remains one of the most in-demand financial products in the Philippines. The profile of a typical vehicle loan borrower — a working Filipino
adult, aged 35–54, in Metro Manila or a major provincial city — maps closely onto the buyer profile that Carmudi is designing its platform to serve.
The convergence is not incidental. Both companies are operating in the same ecosystem, serving the same market, and responding to the same structural forces: Japanese brand dominance, rising EV interest, and a buyer population that is increasingly sophisticated about what it wants and increasingly able to compare options before committing.
The Road Ahead
What the Carmudi interview ultimately offers is not a prediction — the interviewee was careful to avoid overconfidence — but a framework for reading the Philippine automotive market with clear eyes. Japanese brands will remain dominant, but the market is not static. EV adoption is real and dealers are responding to it. New car sales are growing alongside used car demand. And the platforms and financing institutions that will win are the ones that remember, always, to recenter around the buyer.
It is, in other words, a market in motion. And the players paying close attention — including both Carmudi and its partners like Global Dominion Financing — are positioning themselves to move with it.
This article is based on an interview featured on the Global Dominion Financing, Inc. TikTok page (@gdfiofficial) hosted by Aian Guanzon. The views and opinions expressed by the interviewee are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Global Dominion Financing, Inc. or Carmudi Philippines.