Suzuki Sales : 2024-26 (H1)

Most legacy brands are finding life difficult as hordes of Chinese brands join the fray. Is Suzuki coping well or feeling the pinch like so many others? 

Sales are up 10% in the first half of the year to 1.8 million units. In 2021, they were up 13% / 2020 +7% / 2023 +4% / 2024 +6% / 2025 +1%. The +10% figure for 2026 is a surprisingly positive upturn after a few years of declining increases. 

The secret is having two large markets that are thus far unaffected by a Chinese influx. They are India, which accounts for 58% of total sales, and Japan, 21%. That's nearly 4 out of 5 sales in two countries. Is that a good thing or a risky position ot be in?

One could reason that such a reliance on just two markets could leave Suzuki exposed, but if so, then it won't be happening soon. The Indian car buyer strongly supports Suzuki and in Japan, the unique Kei car segment is unlikely to be seriously challenged and where Suzuki sells most of its cars. 

That said, BYD and Chery are introducing EV Kei cars to Japan but unless the EV take up increases greatly, it will have little impact. Currently, EV Kei cars make up just over 1% of total sales with growth potential. 

Data & photo source: Suzuki. (Fronx & Ignis).

GAC Trumpchi/Motor Deliveries 2020-2025

GAC's Trumpchi as a brand name is only used in China. It's GAC Motor for export markets. The vast majority of deliveries are for the domestic market, and had put most of its eggs in that basket. 

At the beginning of 2026, the GAC Group spun off Trumpchi to speed up decision-making. The reason is to save the brand due to intense competition at home. The goal is also to go more upmarket. 

Chinese sales were growing nicely each year and the Trumpchi brand rode the crest of that wave. 2025 was a strong year too but ruthless discounting and cut backs on subsidies hurt many brands, including this one. 

Looking back historically, the first year of car sales was 2011, with 15,700 units sold. It escalated from there to 34,200, 85,600, 105,500 and 190,000 by 2015. 

2016 witnessed a doubling of volume to 370,900, then 508,600, 565,900 before falling back to 349,100 in 2019. The chart covers the following years. 

It was all good until 2025, when a 23% drop was experienced. This led to the spin off mentioned earlier. The year 2026 will be covered here in the near future to see how things are progressing. 

Data source: GAC Group. 
Photo source: Netcarshow (above). 

Philippines Car/LCV Sales: 2026 (Jan-July)

The data from here is variable, to put it politely. It depends on importers reporting and that is inconsistent. So while registrations are down, too much volume isn't available to make a call on that but I came up with -9% YTD anyway. 

The 2025 share shown below is for the complete year. Toyota is the dominant brand with 46% of the market. Most of the top brands are legacy ones and they are suffering. Chinese brands are pressing for more share and something has to give. 

BYD reported registrations in 2025 but not so far this year so its total is an estimate. GAC is now reporting and GWM for 2026, the latter didn't in 2025. Many smaller imported brands have never been included but their numbers will be tiny. 

Data: Campi. Photos: Toyota (Wigo & Innova).