mr funny
06-10-10, 09:53
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/motor/story/0,4574,407180,00.html?
Published October 6, 2010
BMW zooms to 2nd spot on sales chart
Mercedes grabs 3rd slot; Toyota stays in the lead, but sales drop a sharp 57.8%
By SAMUEL EE
BMW continues to speed up the top of the sales chart, followed closely by Mercedes-Benz, as the two German luxury makes dominate a shrinking car market.
After the first nine months of this year, BMW has racked up sales of 3,020 units, making it the second most popular brand (among authorised distributors) in Singapore. It is now in front of Mercedes-Benz, which is No 3 with 2,914 units.
This time last year, BMW was only seventh, while Mercedes-Benz was sixth. Their respective market shares have been increasing steadily since the start of 2010. Compared with January-September 2009, BMW's sales have jumped 22.8 per cent while Merc's has increased by 15.7 per cent.
Another German make, Volkswagen, is now No 4 with 2,794 units sold from January to September. Exactly 12 months earlier, this mid-range brand was only No 9 among authorised dealers.
Like the two premium brands in front of it, VW has displaced the traditionally popular Japanese and Korean competition amid a sharp reduction in certificates of entitlement (COEs).
Even Audi is now No 9 with 1,422 units - when it was outside the Top 10 a year ago - although an aggressive marketing campaign by the German premium make with the four rings has certainly helped too.
When the COE quota shrank, premiums began to rise, thus pricing out the marginal buyers.
The strong yen and weaker euro also conspired to make Japanese car prices less attractive than before. As a result, only market leader Toyota has been able to stay at the top of the charts with year-to-date sales of 4,616 cars (including 600 units from luxury division Lexus).
However, this is still a sharp 57.8 per cent drop in its sales from a year ago. Toyota has been Singapore's top marque since 2002.
While the Japanese giant has managed to maintain its market share, Kia, Hyundai, Honda and Nissan have not. Together with Toyota, they were in the Top 5 after the first three quarters of 2009.
But if taxis were included in the tally, Korean automaker Hyundai would have shot to top spot. From January to September 2010, authorised distributor Komoco Motors registered 2,901 Sonata cabs.
The total market size for passenger cars for the first nine months is estimated to be about 33,650 units. Exact registrations will only be known when the Land Transport Authority releases the official count later this month.
For the whole of 2010, overall new car registrations are expected to come in at only 42,000, or down almost 40 per cent from 2009's total registration of 68,862 units.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2010-10-06/semake6.jpg
Published October 6, 2010
BMW zooms to 2nd spot on sales chart
Mercedes grabs 3rd slot; Toyota stays in the lead, but sales drop a sharp 57.8%
By SAMUEL EE
BMW continues to speed up the top of the sales chart, followed closely by Mercedes-Benz, as the two German luxury makes dominate a shrinking car market.
After the first nine months of this year, BMW has racked up sales of 3,020 units, making it the second most popular brand (among authorised distributors) in Singapore. It is now in front of Mercedes-Benz, which is No 3 with 2,914 units.
This time last year, BMW was only seventh, while Mercedes-Benz was sixth. Their respective market shares have been increasing steadily since the start of 2010. Compared with January-September 2009, BMW's sales have jumped 22.8 per cent while Merc's has increased by 15.7 per cent.
Another German make, Volkswagen, is now No 4 with 2,794 units sold from January to September. Exactly 12 months earlier, this mid-range brand was only No 9 among authorised dealers.
Like the two premium brands in front of it, VW has displaced the traditionally popular Japanese and Korean competition amid a sharp reduction in certificates of entitlement (COEs).
Even Audi is now No 9 with 1,422 units - when it was outside the Top 10 a year ago - although an aggressive marketing campaign by the German premium make with the four rings has certainly helped too.
When the COE quota shrank, premiums began to rise, thus pricing out the marginal buyers.
The strong yen and weaker euro also conspired to make Japanese car prices less attractive than before. As a result, only market leader Toyota has been able to stay at the top of the charts with year-to-date sales of 4,616 cars (including 600 units from luxury division Lexus).
However, this is still a sharp 57.8 per cent drop in its sales from a year ago. Toyota has been Singapore's top marque since 2002.
While the Japanese giant has managed to maintain its market share, Kia, Hyundai, Honda and Nissan have not. Together with Toyota, they were in the Top 5 after the first three quarters of 2009.
But if taxis were included in the tally, Korean automaker Hyundai would have shot to top spot. From January to September 2010, authorised distributor Komoco Motors registered 2,901 Sonata cabs.
The total market size for passenger cars for the first nine months is estimated to be about 33,650 units. Exact registrations will only be known when the Land Transport Authority releases the official count later this month.
For the whole of 2010, overall new car registrations are expected to come in at only 42,000, or down almost 40 per cent from 2009's total registration of 68,862 units.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2010-10-06/semake6.jpg