PARALLEL imports (PI) are heading for another record year and most in the trade are confident the boom will be sustained going into 2008 because of the many new Japanese models due to be launched soon.

'I believe the surge in sales will continue because the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show will preview many new models that we can import for the Singapore market,' says Vincent Tan, director of parallel importer VinCar Trading. 'There will be volume sellers like the new Honda Fit and Honda Accord, as well as distinctive models like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X sports saloon and Toyota Mark X Zio SUV.'

The biennial Tokyo auto show for passenger cars will take place later this month and once the new models are released into the domestic market, parallel importers snap them up and bring them into Singapore. And the cars often precede those from authorised distributors by at least six months. Even then, not all models will be made officially available for export markets, which means that some imported models will not be represented by an authorised version in the local showrooms.

The popular Fit, whose export version is the Jazz offered by authorised distributor Kah Motor, is likely to be the parallel importers' best-selling model in the short term. The previous model, which cost from about $53,000, had consistently been in the top-three most popular PI models here, except in the past three months.

'The Fit has always been a popular car and because the new Fit represents a full model change, I believe it will continue to be successful,' says one parallel importer, who declined to be named. He says the new 1.3 and 1.5-litre car - which is bigger and more powerful and was launched in Japan just this month - is likely to start from about $57,000 when it arrives next month.

He adds: 'Since Kah Motor is not likely to bring in the Jazz until the middle of next year, parallel importers will benefit.'

Another model that has just been launched in Japan and which is seeing promising sales as a parallel import here is the Nissan Dualis SUV.

'Sales are not bad because it is a two-litre model and looks like a smaller version of the Murano,' says Car Times managing director Eddie Loo. He says that at about $87,000, the Dualis's 'affordable price' is another attraction.