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It was the top brand in 2011 with 4,959 new cars registered

 

By SAMUEL EE

 

BMW will unveil the new 3 Series early next month and the eagerly anticipated sedan could do for the German luxury carmaker in 2012 what the best-selling 5 Series accomplished last year – make it the No 1 brand in Singapore.

 

Driving ahead: BMW is expected to continue surging ahead of the competition with the new 3 Series

As Singapore’s top brand in 2011 with 4,959 new cars registered, BMW’s 5 Series executive saloon was Singapore’s most popular car in 2011 despite being a premium model (see table).

According to the Land Transport Authority, a total of 2,397 units were registered (including both authorised and parallel imports).

For an idea of the mid- sized model’s popularity, this number is higher than the fifth-placed Audi brand’s total new car registrations last year, which came up to 2,111 units.

The second-most popular model in 2011 was another mid-sized German luxury saloon – the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Singapore’s top model in 2010 slipped to runner-up position last year after racking up a total of 1,864 units.

In third place was another Merc – the C-Class compact sedan with 1,360 units.

No 4 was an old favourite – the Toyota Corolla Altis, which had ruled the roost here as Singapore’s favourite model for many years until it was dethroned in 2010. The 1,600cc Japanese stalwart notched up 982 units.

Another BMW rounded up Singapore’s top five models. The 3 Series managed a tally of 910 units despite being on its way out.

With the next-generation 3 Series due to be launched in the next few weeks, BMW is expected to continue surging ahead of the competition.

But Neil Fiorentinos, managing director of BMW Group Asia, declined to make any predictions.

All he would say was: ‘Given the great reviews from media around the world, we hope that the new BMW 3 Series will serve the Singapore customers’ requirements here well.’

As for topping the sales charts in 2011, Mr Fiorentinos attributed the achievement to ‘our customer-focused business model and our good dealer network’.

‘We are proud to continue our position as the leading provider of premium vehicles in Singapore, while the No 1 spot for being overall automotive leader had partially resulted from the unique market/COE situation,’ he explained.

‘The BMW 5 Series has been very popular amongst our customers in Singapore and around the world with its combination of luxury comfort, driving dynamics, and safety.’

Mr Fiorentinos added that extending the 5 Series product range with the turbocharged 520i and 528i also increased the model’s popularity.

But as a measure of the brand’s overall success, he pointed out that around 600 units of X models – that is, the X1, X3, X5, and X6 sport-utility vehicles – were sold here last year.

‘This shows the consumer trend of accepting new body concepts apart from traditional saloon,’ he said.

He expects the Singapore market will continue to face a reduction in certificates of entitlement (COEs) that could lead to stagnant growth or even a slight contraction.

‘At the global level, there appears to be global economic concerns pertaining to both Europe and the US,’ said Mr Fiorentinos.

‘We will maintain a high level of flexibility so as to adapt to any changing situations quickly.’

Source: Business Times 15 Feb 2012