BYD tops Singapore auto market, beats Toyota with 'cost-effectiveness''

*This content was translated by AI.

Chinese automaker BYD has become the new loser of Singapore's automobile market, defeating Toyota, which has long dominated the market. According to the latest data released by Singapore's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Authority (LTA), BYD recorded a phenomenal growth rate of 80.6% year-on-year in the Singapore market last year, selling a total of 11,184 units, ranking first in sales by brand. This represents 21.2% of Singapore's total new car market share, meaning that one in five new cars on Singapore's roads is a BYD vehicle. This is the first time that a Chinese car brand has risen to the top in Singapore's annual sales, and it is widely evaluated that the influence of Chinese electric vehicles in the Southeast Asian market has exceeded the critical point.

On the other hand, Japan's Toyota, which had remained at the top for several years, sold only 7,466 units, including Lexus, falling to second place with a 5.2% year-on-year performance. BMW then ranked third with 5,091 units, Mercedes-Benz fourth with 4,871 units, and Honda fifth with 4,845. Tesla in the U.S. remained in sixth place with 3,476 units sold. South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. barely maintained their "top 10" status by selling 1,459 and 1,209 units, respectively, while sales itself fell 28.9 percent and 4.0 percent year-on-year, respectively.

BYD's progress is in line with the Singaporean government's strong eco-friendly vehicle supply policy. Last year, the proportion of pure electric vehicles (BEVs) in Singapore's new car market reached an all-time high of 45.1%, and BYD did not miss this opportunity and dominated the market with its flagship model "Atto 3." It is analyzed that BYD, which has both price competitiveness and compliance marketability, quickly absorbed consumers, while the Singaporean government provided an exceptional tax reduction of up to 40,000 Singapore dollars (about 45.53 million won) when purchasing electric vehicles.

In the case of Hyundai Motor, the company put in "Ionic 5," which is produced directly by Hyundai Motor Group's Singapore Global Innovation Center (HMGICS), a local production base, to make efforts, but the report card did not meet expectations. Industry experts diagnosed that the Ioniq 5 is in a so-called "sandwich" situation in which it has to compete with Tesla in terms of price, losing ground to Chinese brands such as BYD and Cherry. On top of that, consumers are turning to relatively inexpensive Chinese electric vehicles as Singapore's astronomical vehicle registration cost (COE) burden increases.

BYD also ranked second in 2024 with explosive growth of 337.2%, overtaking Toyota again in just a year. Although Hyundai Motor and Kia also have local production systems, it is urgent to establish a new market strategy to respond to the overwhelming cost-effectiveness strategy of Chinese brands. Experts predict that the popularity of Chinese brands is likely to continue for the time being as the Singapore market serves as a wind gauge for the Southeast Asian electric vehicle market in the future.

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*This content was translated by AI.