Why is BYD Seeing ‘Unprecedented Growth’ in Cebu?
In his 20 years of selling cars, Edward Onglatco said his experience with BYD is unprecedented.
“I've never seen growth like this,” Onglatco, president and CEO of BYD Cebu, told Esquire Philippines at the sidelines of Friday's launch of BYD Tech Tour at SM Seaside City Cebu. The event was held to introduce more people to the brand.
Meant to introduce more people to the brand, the BYD Tech Tour event was was held for the first time outside of Manila
The demand for new energy vehicles, the category for e-vehicles and hybrid units, is such that a year after BYD opened in Cebu, the already has three branches with three more set to open by the end of the year or early 2026, Onglatco said. “We have experienced a very overwhelming response from the market. Because if you're a smart buyer and you're very conscious with your cost of ownership expense, there's no other brand. You have to go green. You have to go EV. If you're not ready for pure electric vehicle, we have the plug-in hybrid.”
In 2024, BYD Cars Philippines reported selling 4,780 passenger vehicles, a significant increase of 8,900 percent from 2023. This sales performance gave BYD an 82 percent market share in the Philippine new energy vehicle (NEV) market.
Globally, BYD said it sold a record 4.27 million NEVs, a 41.26 percent increase year-over-year. This included 1.76 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs), up 12.08 percent, and 2.49 million passenger plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), up 72.83 percent.
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Among the most enthusiastic and earliest adopters of e-vehicles in Cebu is entrepreneur Manuel “Bunny” Pages, whose company runs several businesses, mostly restaurants. Pages, a car enthusiast and collector, now owns three e-vehicles and sold all his traditional cars except for one. In one BYD event, Pages gave a testimonial on the convenience of his BYD Han and how smooth and quiet a ride it was.
Onglatco said that apart from the primary benefit of not having to spend for gas, electric vehicles have far fewer moving parts and require less maintenance. Onglatco said you only need to spend P5,000 a year for maintenance.
“In terms of the mechanical and powertrain infrastructure, the traditional cars have about 10,000 parts and moving parts are 2,000. While ours, we have about 20 moving parts only. It's a very simple car and of course, which one would you choose?” Onglatco said.
Motorists should also never need to feel range anxiety with the range of car models, he added. “Our most affordable pure EV has a 300-kilometer range. Our top of the line has a 530-kilometer range. If you're talking of our dual mode, our DMIs, you can circle Cebu island twice. Range anxiety shouldn't be an issue,” he said.
BYD Cebu president and CEO Edward Onglatco inside a BYD eMAX 7 during the BYD Tech Tour in SM City Cebu
Paving the way for the transition is the move by ACMobility, the Ayala unit that handles distribution for BYD cars in the country, to set up charging locations all over the country as part of its Charge Forward initiative and the national Philippine EV Spine program. ACMobility is targeting 35 charging stations in key areas in the Visayas by the end of 2025.
In Cebu, there are already charging points at Ayala Center Cebu, Il Corso, and locations in tourism hotspots Bantayan and Camotes Island. Onglatco said among their partners in rolling out charging stations is Prince Stores, which has about 30 locations in Cebu Province. He said the company’s goal is to have a charging station in all their stores.
BYD units come with a charger that the company will install for clients at their preferred location
“We’re laying the foundation for a strong nationwide network of EV charging stations, ensuring that every Filipino has easy access to the infrastructure needed to embrace electric vehicles with confidence and convenience,” said Carla Buencamino, head of Mobility Infrastructure at ACMobility.
“As Cebu takes the lead in the Visayas region, we are building a reliable and inclusive EV charging network that caters to the increasing demand for sustainable mobility,” she added.
