By Colin Yong

IT’S official: the Toyota Corolla Altis is Singapore’s favourite car. According to figures released by the Motor Traders Association of Singapore (MTA) earlier this month, official distributor Borneo Motors put 5,683 units of the Thai-built saloon on the road in the first six months of 2004 – an average of around 31 cars every day.

TOYOTA ON TOP
Factor in the 667 old-shape Corollas that were registered early this year (Borneo Motors was clearing its remaining stocks of the car), and total Corolla sales came up to 6,350 units. This gave the model a 13.2 percent market share out of the 47,986 passenger cars registered from January to June this year, close to the 13.5 percent it held in 2003.

Continued strong sales of Toyota’s other models boosted the brand’s total unit sales to 11,278. The Vios, Camry and Picnic are all bestsellers in their respective segments, which leaves the RAV4 as the only Toyota sold here that isn’t a class-leader in terms of sales.

While Nissan was the second-best selling brand in 2003, it has fallen behind Hyundai this year and had to be content with third place at the mid-year point. The Sunny and Cefiro are still doing very well, but Nissan lacks other volume-sellers in its line-up. These two saloons made up 92.9 percent of all Nissans sold here, whereas only 69.7 percent of Toyotas sold were the Corolla Altis and Camry.

HYUNDAI’S RISE
A wide product range and keen pricing enabled Hyundai to overtake Nissan and secure the number two spot by 578 units. “The Matrix has really helped Hyundai become a household name in Singapore,” observed the sales manager of a rival distributorship. “MPVs are in fashion now, and people who can’t afford a full-sized MPV but still want a tall and spacious car don’t have any Japanese models to choose from. Many of them end up buying a Matrix.”

Circumstances may have played a part in the Matrix’s success, but other Hyundai models are holding their own in the marketplace. After a relatively slow start, sales of the Accent and Getz are really picking up now, but the biggest surprise must be how well the newly-introduced 2.4-litre version of the Santa Fe Sports Utility Vehicle is doing.

The old 2.7 V6 model never really made an impact among local buyers, but the 2.4’s sub-$90,000 price tag has turned the Santa Fe’s fortunes around. 475 units found homes from January to June, making it the best-selling SUV in town, ahead of the Lexus RX300.

SECOND HALF
Among the other major players, expect Honda and Kia to perform significantly better in the second half of this year as both marques recently launched potentially big-selling new models.

Kah Motor has said it expects to put 1,500 new Odysseys on the road by the end of 2004 (see CarBuyer, Issue 06), and it registered a whopping 436 units of the car in June alone.

Granted, the Odyssey was on sale some time before it actually arrived here so there was a backlog of orders to clear, but maintaining 150 to 200 sales monthly from now on is an achievable target for Kah.

Kia introduced the 1.6-litre Cerato two weeks ago, while some 400 orders for the 1.1-litre Picanto have been placed in the two months since its debut. These two models should help Kia set a new sales record this year – it sold 2,093 cars last year and it already managed to hit 60 percent of this total in the first half of 2004.

VERDICT
Things should remain pretty much as they are at the top of the chart. Nissan is gearing up to launch a whole new range of cars, including the Presage Multi Purpose Vehicle and replacements for the current Sunny and Prairie MPV, but these models are unlikely to appear much earlier than the fourth quarter of the year.

So it’s likely to be Japan vs. Korea for the first two spots, with all bets being on Toyota to end the year in the number one spot again.

Compact cars
1. Toyota Vios - 2,217
2. Hyundai Accent - 992
3. Hyundai Getz - 954
The Vios’ attractive pricing and chic image make it a favourite among younger buyers. Hyundai’s duo is doing remarkably well and the Getz is the best-selling compact hatchback ahead of the Honda Jazz (672).

Small cars
1. Toyota Corolla Altis - 5,683
2. Nissan Sunny - 4,578
3. Mitsubishi Lancer - 1,693
It’s a two-horse race in this fiercely competitive class, with the Corolla Altis still leading the way. The revised Honda Civic is selling strongly (1,564) and the Mazda 3 (1,081) is also a force to be reckoned with.

Medium cars
1. Hyundai Sonata - 1,023
2. BMW 3 Series - 464
3. Mazda 6 - 351
This is a relatively small segment, and the Sonata’s pricing undoubtedly attracts some buyers from the class below. Among the compact executive cars, the 3 Series still leads the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (262).

Big cars
1. Toyota Camry - 2,183
2. Nissan Cefiro - 1,489
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class - 996
The Camry is the undisputed champ here, but it remains to be seen if the new Thai-built car can maintain this momentum. The E-Class remains the favourite European big car, ahead of the BMW 5 Series (629).

Luxury cars
1. Mercedes-Benz S-Class - 301
2. BMW 7 Series - 203
3. Lexus LS430 - 95
Continuing to defy its age, the S-Class is still the best-selling luxury car, pipping the 7 Series to the top spot. Audi’s A8 has so far failed to make an impression, but the new 3.0-litre model could change things.

Small Multi Purpose Vehicles
1. Hyundai Matrix - 3,079
2. Opel Meriva - 87
3. Renault Scenic - 49
As the figures show, there’s not a lot of competition in this class of five- and six-seater MPVs. Chevrolet’s Vivant (47) ought to do better but the 1.6-litre version is available only with a manual gearbox.

Large Multi Purpose Vehicles
1. Toyota Picnic - 1,198
2. Mitsubishi Grandis - 588
3. Honda Odyssey - 498
While the Picnic is by far the most popular seven-seater in town, the real competition is between the larger 2.4-litre models. The Grandis is ahead by a nose now but the scene could look very different by the year’s end.

Sports Utility Vehicles
1. Hyundai Santa Fe - 475
2. Lexus RX300 - 355
3. Honda CR-V - 237
Include re-badged Toyota Harriers in this list and the RX300 would definitely be on top, but as it stands, it’s the Santa Fe that’s number one. The CR-V is due for a facelift soon but it’s still selling steadily.

Coupes, convertibles and roadsters
1. Hyundai Tuscani - 173
2. BMW 3 Series Cabriolet - 42
3. BMW 3 Series Coupe - 31
Forget about the Hyundai for a moment, and BMW dominates this category – just outside the list are the Z4 (29) and 6 Series Coupe (29). Surprisingly, Mercedes’ CLK Cabriolet (23) outsells the CLK coupe (19).

Station wagons
1. Ford Focus Station Wagon - 26
2. Volvo V70 - 23
3. Volvo V50 - 9
MPVs and SUVs have all but killed off the station wagon market here, but there is still a handful of customers who appreciate these cars’ practicality. Expect sales of the recently-introduced V50 to pick up.