Luxury Vehicle Sales Fell by Over 50% Last Year

Sales numbers of luxury vehicles saw a significant drop of more than 50 percent in 2018, a much larger difference than the 16-percent decline experienced by the Philippine automotive industry as a whole.

Lexus Manila President Raymond Rodriguez revealed the numbers during an interview, and attributed the decline to higher excise taxes on automobiles brought about by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law which was enacted in January 2018.

"It may take us two to three years before we can fully adjust to the new tax scheme," Rodriguez said, but added, "We are happy, though that despite slower sales, hybrid models are gaining more popularity because of new incentives."

Lexus wasn’t the only luxury brand to get hit by the 2018 sales loss, Rodriguez said. Other competing upscale marques found themselves in the same situation given the higher taxes that they faced.

Despite the slower sales in 2018, Lexus managed to improve its market share from 31 percent to 35 percent across all luxury car brands.