BYD the top-selling car brand in first half of 2025; parallel-import registrations continue to slide
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The total number of new car registrations in the first six months of 2025 was 23,957 units – 29 per cent higher than the 18,576 units for the same period in 2024.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
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- Singapore car registrations rose 29% to 23,957 units in H1 2025, but many top brands lost market share.
- Toyota is second with 3,461 registrations, while BMW maintained third position with 2,664 registrations, but both saw market share decrease.
- Parallel imports declined due to authorised dealer competition and EV access, with Mr Neo warning of potential Chinese brand dominance.
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SINGAPORE – Chinese car brand BYD topped the sales chart here in the first half of 2025 with 4,667 registrations, cornering 19.5 per cent of the total new car market for the period.
At the same time, registrations of parallel-imported cars kept sliding, squeezed by the rise of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brands.
According to data published by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on July 28, Toyota, including its luxury arm, Lexus, is in second place with 3,461 registrations in the first six months of 2025.
This is more than the 3,165 units registered in the same period in 2024. However, its market share slipped to 14.4 per cent from 17 per cent a year ago.
BMW maintained its third position with 2,664 registrations, up from 2,523 units for the same period in 2024. Its market share dipped from 13.6 per cent to 11.1 per cent.
Among the 10 top-performing car brands in the first half of 2025, seven have lost market share. This is even as all except Kia (8th) and Nissan (9th) registered more cars than they did a year ago.
The total number of new car registrations in the first six months of 2025 was 23,957 – 29 per cent higher than the 18,576 units for the same period in 2024.
The growth in total market size comes amid heated competition from more brands operating here – nearly all of them being Chinese carmakers that specialise in EVs. These include brands like Deepal and Dongfeng that were launched after the first half of 2024.
In all, 53 car brands registered new cars in the first half of 2025, compared with 48 brands in the same period in 2024. Some of the newcomers are taking an increasingly significant share of the market, notably Aion with 466 registrations (11th position) and Xpeng with 376 units (12th position).
Parallel-imported cars, which are sold by companies other than the authorised dealers appointed by the car brands, continue to lose market share.
In the first half of 2025, registrations of parallel-imported cars made up 10.9 per cent of total new car registrations. This is lower than the share for the same period in 2024 (12.8 per cent) and 2023 (21.4 per cent).
In the first half of 2025, 59 per cent of Honda vehicles registered came from parallel importers, down from 65 per cent for the same period a year ago. Toyota, which is also popular with parallel importers, has seen the proportion decline from 35 per cent to 30 per cent.
Mr Neo Nam Heng, chairman of Prime, a diversified motor group, and honorary adviser to the Automobile Importer and Exporter Association, which represents parallel importers, attributed the slowdown to intensified competition from authorised dealers and lack of access to EVs.
The majority of EV models available to parallel importers do not comply with Singapore’s charging standards. Hence, the importers cannot offer them here.
The popularity of EV brands like BYD, which can take advantage of incentives that lower the upfront purchasing cost by up to $40,000, is rising.
Mr Neo said: “In another two to three years, if this uneven playing field remains, Chinese car brands will dominate the Singapore market.”
