Parallel importers sold nearly 10,000 Vezel in 2016

SINGAPORE - The astounding popularity of the Honda Vezel has made it Singapore's overall top model for the second straight year and boosted the parallel import trade to its highest volume in eight years.

In 2016, parallel importers (PIs) collectively sold 9,966 units of the Vezel, or two and a half times as many as in 2015, according to the Land Transport Authority.

With PIs registering a total of 19,888 units last year, it means one out of every two cars they sold was this grey Honda.

The Vezel compact SUV is the Japanese domestic version of the HR-V.

The latter is officially imported into Singapore by authorised Honda distributor Kah Motor and its registration numbers are not included in those of the Vezel.

Some parallel importers were surprised by the big number sold.

Vincent Tan, managing director of VinCar, one of Singapore's largest parallel importers, said: "I knew it was very popular but I didn't expect the actual number to be so high. But then, it is difficult to tell as there are so many companies selling it.''

According to vehicle classifieds website sgCarMart, the Vezel is currently available from an eye-popping 155 dealers.

Mr Tan attributed the Vezel's strong sales to private-hire companies, which he estimates made up "easily 40 to 50 per cent'' of total demand last year.

With lower COE premiums, the Vezel currently costs about S$102,000, a drop from the average 2016 price of about S$105,000.

But Mr Tan expects Vezel demand in 2017 to slow down.

This is due to the arrival of new competitors such as the funky Toyota CH-R, despite the likelihood of it costing as much as S$20,000 more.

Thanks to the Vezel's massive appeal, the Honda brand was propelled to the overall No 1 spot in 2016.

It overtook Toyota, which had been Singapore's top make for two consecutive years.

A total of 87,504 new cars were registered in Singapore last year, up 52 per cent from the previous year.

Thus the almost 10,000 Vezel units sold represent 11 per cent of all new cars purchased, both authorised and grey.

By contrast, the top model among authorised distributors in 2016 was the Toyota Corolla Altis.

Its 4,923 units sold by Borneo Motors Singapore were only half as many as the Vezel.

But the evergreen Corolla Altis remains the all-time top model despite the Vezel's impressive numbers, with 10,910 units moved in 2006.

For an idea of the Vezel's strength last year, the next most popular PI model was the Toyota Harrier with 2,452 units, or a quarter of the Vezel (see table).

They were followed by a new No 3 model - the Honda Shuttle (1,669 units).

In all, six of the Top 10 PI cars were made by Toyota, while three wore a Honda badge.

There was only one luxury model, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class at No 9 (189 units).

As a percentage of the total industry volume, the PIs' collective registrations in 2016 were 22.7 per cent - below the record 23.8 per cent achieved in 2008 when total volume was 97,348 units.

samuelee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 26, 2017.
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