Solomon Islands Full Year 2015: Market down 36%, Hilux #1 (BSCB Exclusive)

The Toyota Hilux is once again the favourite choice in the Solomon Islands. 

* See the Top 7 All-brands and Top 8 All-Toyota models by clicking on the title *

The Solomon Islands are located east of Papua New Guinea and composed of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands stretching 1.500 km (930 mi). Solomon is home to 523.000 inhabitants and has sometimes been described as an ‘unformed state’. The country’s capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. Tight commercial links with China means Chinese manufacturer Great Wall was once well represented in the archipelago unlike in most other nations composing Oceania.

Solomon Islands location – picture courtesy Wikipedia

The Solomon Islander new car market is in freefall in 2015 at -36% to just 296 registrations. However the two market leaders limit their fall, resulting in higher market shares: Toyota is down 20% to account for 42.2% of total sales vs. 33.5% a year ago while Isuzu is down 25% to 27.7% vs. 23.6% in 2014. On the other hand, Nissan (-60%) and Hyundai (-39%) crumble while Great Wall (-81%) implodes. The Toyota Hilux remains the most popular vehicle in the archipelago, improving its share to 22%.

Previous year: Solomon Islands Full Year 2014: Toyota and Isuzu in the lead (including videos)

Full Year 2015 Top 7 All-brands and Top 8 All-Toyota models below.