Singapore September 2012: Volkswagen leads, BMW #1 ytd

October 15, 2012
Matt Gasnier

VW Passat

* See the Top 40 All-brands Ranking by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Michael *

Only brands rankings have been accessible so far in 2012 for Singapore but the market is so unique it deserves its monthly update on BSCB. 2,242 new vehicles found a buyer in September, bringing the year-to-date total to 21,199. Last year BMW ended 9 consecutive years of Toyota domination to take the lead of the manufacturers ranking in Singapore for the first time and it now looks like BMW could rank #1 again in 2012. After a weak 4th place in August, it is back to #2 this month with 376 sales and a very solid 16.8% market share. This is only 3 units below Volkswagen, leadings the Singaporean brands ranking for the first time this month at 379 units and 16.9% share. VW Stays #4 year-to-date at 12.2%.

BMW 3 Series

After leading the market in August, Toyota is down 2 spots to #3 this month with 331 sales and 14.8% (also its 2012 year-to-date market share), ahead of Mercedes also down 2 ranks to #4 at 329 units and 14.7%. BMW now has a 259-unit lead over Mercedes with 3 more months to go before the end of the year. Within the Top 10 brands, a few more impress: Volvo is up 4 spots to #5, Porsche up one to #9 and Jaguar up 4 to break into the Top 10 at #10 with 43 sales and 1.9%.

Jaguar XKR

Notice also Opel at #21 with 15 units, SsangYong up 11 spots to #22 and 11 sales for its 2nd month of sales in 2012 and Bentley up 2 spots to #24 with 10 units. The reason why so many premium brands appear atop the Singaporean ranking lies in the Certificates of Entitlement, a government program meaning Singapore residents have to bid for the right to buy a motor vehicle, with the number of certificates deliberately restricted. In September 2012 COEs prices were down slightly but still at a mind-boggling S$68,000 for cars under 1,600cc and S$80,191 for cars over 1,600cc, roughly the same as the car price itself! Only the very rich can afford to buy a new car in Singapore these days…