Number of registered PI cars dwindle for first three months this year
24 Apr 2013|5,234 views
As expected, parallel imported vehicles were unpopular for the first quarter this year. Interestingly within this period, Toyota has also reclaimed the top spot on the PI charts while for the first time, there were no registrations for Honda and Nissan grey imports.
Though Nissan PI models have reduced over the years, Honda continued to be a significant PI brand. Honda's official imports also face the same fate as they are also no longer among the top 10 brands here.
According to figures from Land Transport Authority (LTA), only a scarce 249 units of parallel import cars were registered between January and March 2013 - 47.7 percent lower than 476 units registered in the same period a year ago.
Toyota reclaimed the top spot by just three cars to BMW, with 68 cars registered. Mercedes-Benz is third with 55 units while Audi and Porsche are further down the list with 18 cars each. The BMW 5 Series sedan is the top PI model with 38 units registered while the Toyota Estima MPV came in second with 36 units on top of the Toyota Vellfire (including the Alphard) with 28 units.
The Business Times reported that this is unsurprising given that the PI trade has been shrinking steadily since 2008, as the COE quota contracted. Toyota revived from the second half of 2012 despite the high COE premiums and went on to end the year in second place, behind German marque BMW.
As expected, parallel imported vehicles were unpopular for the first quarter this year. Interestingly within this period, Toyota has also reclaimed the top spot on the PI charts while for the first time, there were no registrations for Honda and Nissan grey imports.
Though Nissan PI models have reduced over the years, Honda continued to be a significant PI brand. Honda's official imports also face the same fate as they are also no longer among the top 10 brands here.
According to figures from Land Transport Authority (LTA), only a scarce 249 units of parallel import cars were registered between January and March 2013 - 47.7 percent lower than 476 units registered in the same period a year ago.
Toyota reclaimed the top spot by just three cars to BMW, with 68 cars registered. Mercedes-Benz is third with 55 units while Audi and Porsche are further down the list with 18 cars each. The BMW 5 Series sedan is the top PI model with 38 units registered while the Toyota Estima MPV came in second with 36 units on top of the Toyota Vellfire (including the Alphard) with 28 units.
The Business Times reported that this is unsurprising given that the PI trade has been shrinking steadily since 2008, as the COE quota contracted. Toyota revived from the second half of 2012 despite the high COE premiums and went on to end the year in second place, behind German marque BMW.
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