BYD jumps to second place behind Toyota in H1 Singapore car sales, beats BMW, Mercedes-Benz
If parallel imports are excluded, the Chinese EV brand would be in pole position
CHINESE electric-vehicle (EV) maker BYD is the second best-selling car brand in Singapore.
In a tally of the registration figures from authorised agents and parallel imports by the Land Transport Authority between January and June this year, BYD registered 2,587 vehicles, nabbing 13.9 per cent of the market.
Toyota was the brand with the most registrations at 3,165, and 17 per cent market share.
But counting only authorised-dealer registrations, BYD placed first with 2,587, followed by BMW (2,507), Mercedes-Benz (2,334), and Toyota (2,047).
Compared to the same period last year, when it was the first Chinese brand to crack the top 10, BYD’s market share has risen further to 13.9 per cent from 2.8 per cent. It also leapt to second from ninth spot. Its sales have been boosted by the introduction of a version of its Atto 3 sport utility vehicle, which uses a less-expensive Category A Certificate of Entitlement (COE). The brand’s registrations spiked after its introduction in March 2023.
Its rival, American EV maker Tesla, is also benefiting from a similar play.
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After introducing a Category A version of its Model 3 sedan in May, it posted its highest registrations this year so far – 308 – in June.
That propelled it from eighth to sixth in the rankings, with 969 registrations and 5.2 per cent of the market.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai, which recently unveiled its second Singapore-made EV, has also been able to capitalise.
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Its registrations increased nearly three times to 941 from 333, upping its market share to 5.1 per cent and reaching seventh place, up from 10th. Its sales are almost evenly split between EVs and hybrids.
An increased COE supply means the new passenger-car market will expand this year.
For H1 2024, total registrations were up 40.5 per cent, compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
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