Arguably, Internet has become one of the effective channels in reaching your target customers. The Philippines is no exception, with 44 million Internet users from a total population of 102 million.

And since PH has the highest digital populations across Southeast Asia, majority of online platform today are creating a research study based from the actual number of users.

One good example is Carmudi. Its an online car platform offering buyers an easy way to shop for cars. Their business model engaged on used cars, but we were surprised to find out that their site now offers new cars. Click here. 



As the biggest car platform in the PH with 23 emerging counterparts, Carmudi recently conducted a data research in its effort to highlight and understand search trends among car buyers in the Philippines. Their research focused on a 2-year period spanning from 2014-2016, where they compared the period of 2014-15 to 2015-16.

What’s more interesting on their data are the popularity of car body styles, car brands, and pricing. They highlight those areas to demonstrate the changing trends in automotive search behavior of Filipino car buyers.

The following graph illustrates the growth of GDP in conjunction with car sales in the country, showing that the industry continues to thrive at a substantial rate.

What are the Car Brand Search preference of Filipinos online? 

Similar to other countries, car brand recognition in the PH is strong, with Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai  as among the heavy favorites of car buyers.  According to Carmudi site, Toyota has been the most searched brand with an average of 29-percent for both new and used car segments over 2 years.

From the period of 2014 to 2015, Hyundai was the most searched brand for new cars with 29-percent, followed by Toyota with 23-percent, and Ford with 10-percent. From the period of 2015 to 2016, we can see that for individual brands, Toyota was the most searched brand with 31-percent, Hyundai followed with 14-percent and Honda secured third place with 11-percent.
Meanwhile, on used cars, Toyota is still the most searched brand for the period of 2014-2015 with total of 29-percent of searchers’ interest. The Japanese brand was closely followed by Hyundai with 23-percent and Ford with 12-percent. From the following period 2015 to 2016, Toyota took a share of 34-percent with Honda 13-percent, and Hyundai 9-percent trailing behind.
Carmudi also shares that their dealers Ford and Honda were their most popular brands, with Ford dominating due to affordability and Honda due to its high resale value. However, search popularity does not exactly mirror sales numbers. For 2015, the top 5 car brands according to market share were as follows: Toyota 43-percent; Mitsubishi 19-percent; Ford 8-percent; Isuzu 7-percent; and Honda 6-percent.
What are the car body style preference of Filipinos online?
From the period of 2014-15 to 2015-16, we can see that for new cars, four body styles were the most searched for by users. For the period of 2014-15, the MPV was the most popular body style with users, generating 28-percent of all searches in the body style category. It was followed by the sedan with 23-percent and the van with 13-percent, indicating that searchers are drawn to new
commercial vehicles instead of used. This could be due in part to owners wanting mechanical longevity and a professional appearance. For the latter period of 2015-16, we see a slight change in interest with searches for the city car gaining momentum with 24-percent, followed by the MPV with 22-percent and finally the sedan with 19-percent of all searches.
What are the car color preference of Filipinos online?
For both new car periods 2014-2015 to 2015-2016, white and silver/gray have interchangeably been the most searched colors. We can also see that interest in black cars has increased by almost 138-percent, the largest jump out of all the popular colors. Research has indicated that many associate black with people of a high status. Evidently, buyers are concerned with appearance, but clearly there are some who are concerned with how their car color can reduce their fuel costs. Red also saw an increase over both periods, with a 65-percent boost in 2016, showing that an interest in more brightly colored cars may be taking hold among buyers.
What are the Price Range search preference of Filipinos online?

With car sales reaching their highest level with 292,502 units sold to date, the price range of both new and used cars over the last two years has fluctuated considerably and highlighted some surprising trends.