In the first three months of 2015, 380 units of the Honda Vezel were registered collectively by parallel importers across Singapore. The Vezel is a Japanese domestic model, the first of which was registered here last June, reported The Business Times.

On the other hand, the car sold by authorised Honda importer Kah Motor is the HR-V, of which none was registered in the first quarter of 2015 as it was launched here only in mid-April.

In recent years, Toyota models have occupied the top three spots, usually with the Estima, Alphard or Vellfire, and Harrier in that order.

The Toyota Harrier is now the runner-up with 338 units registered, after having ended 2014 in third place. The Vellfire is third among the Toyota models with 48 units, while none of its mechanically identical twin, the plain-looking Alphard, were registered by parallel importers in the first quarter. This is because the new generation Alphard and Vellfire are already here and undergoing homologation. The first units are expected to be registered only later this month.

Overall though, the Toyota brand is still the top PI brand, with 580 cars registered. Honda is the second most popular brand with 432 units. Last year's No. 3 has swopped places with Mercedes-Benz, which has garnered 103 grey imports.

A total of 1,169 PI cars were registered from January to March 2015, or a huge 189 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Only 404 parallel imported cars were registered in the first three months of 2014, in a reflection of the tighter COE supply this time last year.