The first half of 2026 has been especially tough on the luxury automotive sector. Yes, the major brands in the volume segment are all feeling the pain of the economy and certain political events (ahem) but that is definitely even more true for the brands in the premium segments.

Despite the tough times and significantly diminished sales numbers for luxury autos, Lexus has some good news to report. As outlined by Lexus Philippines (and Toyota Motor Philippines) Chairman Alfred Ty, they’ve seen some positive trends even amidst the challenges.

The first is that out of all the markets in Southeast Asia where Lexus is present, Philippines is where the brand has the strongest market share. As a brand, Lexus is still considered a newcomer in the Philippine market versus BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, but has outpaced the German rivals to become the best-selling luxury auto brand. Since officially opening the first Lexus dealership in Manila in 2009, they have already sold about 14,200 units already. While he did not elaborate, much of that would likely have been from the latter part of their 17 years in the market when Lexus had gained wider appeal.

Chairman Ty also mentioned that almost all of their new vehicles sold in 2026 are electrified. Lexus has been championing hybrid technology when they launched their first hybrid in the CT200h, but what had been niche has definitely become mainstream for them, as about 93% of their vehicles released to customers in the first half of the year are hybrid or electric.

Of course, we think most of that 93% will be hybrid because the BEV lineup of Lexus is only just starting to take off. They started with the RZ (which just received a facelift and update late last year) and they’re now expanding the lineup with the BEV variant of the newly launched Lexus ES. But as made clear by Chairman Ty, what Lexus offers are 9 models with up to 19 hybrid variants.

The challenge for Lexus will be unit supply because of global demand brought about by regional events, as well as other supply disruptions brought about by natural (or shall we say unnatural) calamities. Pricing will be challenging moving forward especially given the current exchange rates. For instance, the ES has always been one of the best-selling Lexus models given the price for the size and luxury, but now starting at PHP 4.1 million for the base hybrid model (without a 360 camera) up to about PHP 5.7 million for a BEV, the best-selling status of the ES may change. We even witnessed customers last night openly telling the sales advisors that the car is nice, but getting too expensive. 

We’ll see how the reception will be in the long run for the ES, and the changes in pricing scales for current and future Lexus models if economic and global circumstances don’t change.